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There were men in kilts everywhere and the sound of bagpipes being played could be heard all around. As I stepped off the shuttle, an American flag and Scottish flag hung high between the trees of the campground and welcomed visitors to the games. It was then that I knew, I was officially at the 64thAnnual Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.
Outlander and DNA Kits
I had never even heard of highland games until this year. This may sound silly but back in June, I began watching one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time, Outlander. It airs on Starz and I had wanted to watch it for years but didn’t have the Starz channel. Then, it seemed like everything just started to align. I looked on Netflix one day and boom! There were the first two season of Outlander! I immediately hit the play button. Needless to say, I binge watched the entire series within like a week.
During this binge watch, I also decided to finally bite the bullet and purchase a DNA kit to see what my ethnicity actually was. You can read all about that experience here. The gist of my results were basically that I’m European (big surprise there haha) but I also learned that I’m 15% Scottish/Irish. I even traced back my ancestors to Scotland! My 7thgreat grandmother and some other relatives were from Scotland. This was so exciting for me because I was literally watching a show that focuses a lot on Scotland and its culture! Now, I had an even greater love for Outlander.
It Was an Actual Event
Then, while watching season four of Outlander, some of the characters attend an event called the Highland Games at Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina. It sparked my interest and I decided to do a quick google search to see if it was an actual thing. Y’all, it is! I dug a bit deeper and found out that the 64th Annual Highland Games would be happening a month later. I HAD to go! So, I told my favorite travel partner, my sister, all about it. I told her that I wanted to go and she decided she’d go with me!
The next thing I knew, I was booking an AirBnB in Linville, North Carolina for the weekend of the Highland games! That was a whole other experience which you can read about here. I was really going to go to this thing!
It Was Actually Happening!
The Highland games at Grandfather Mountain runs from Thursday to Sunday however, we decided to only attend on Saturday. We checked into our AirBnB Friday afternoon and then bought our tickets at the Highland games office in Linville. We did this so we could skip the ticket line on Saturday at the event and I’m glad we did! So I would recommend also buying tickets in advance and skip the lines.
Saturday had finally arrived. My sister and I left our AirBnB and drove toward Linville. When we arrived, we followed the traffic and parked in a large field and then hopped on a shuttle (a school bus) and it took us to the actual event location. We went to the back of the bus to sit. The next thing I knew, the emergency door was opening up and a gigantic drum case was being shoved between my seat and the one next to me! I soon found out that it belonged to a teenage boy who would be participating in a drum competition held at the games. That was my first taste of the games.
Officially at The Highland Games!
The shuttle then hurried off to the games. After a few minutes of a crazy, bumpy ride, the bus pulled off the road and we all shuffled off. As I stepped off the shuttle, an American flag and Scottish flag hung high between the trees of the campground we had to walk through and welcomed visitors to the games. There were men in kilts everywhere and the sound of bagpipes being played could be heard all around. It was then that I knew, I was officially at the 64th Annual Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.
As we walked closer to the official entrance of the Highland games, the sounds of the games grew louder and it became harder to contain my excitement. Just one month ago, I was sitting on the couch watching an episode of Outlander, learning about an event called, the Highland games. Now, I was standing at the entrance to it. I looked up and saw Grandfather Mountain standing proud in the distance. It nearly took my breath away. I didn’t realize the mountain would be in view but there it was, like a protective parent watching over everyone as they celebrated their heritage and traditions.
We then stepped inside the area where the actual games would be taking place and found a spot for our chairs. We set up right at the stage where the Scottish dancing would take place. Next, we headed to the outskirts of the field to find some food!
The Food
I’ve never known Scotland to be a country of fabulously, delicious food, but I was excited to try some of the traditional foods available at the games. For breakfast however, I just had a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit. Not very “traditional” but tasty. Then for lunch, we decided to go all out and try a sampler plate of traditional Scottish food. We ordered our sampler from The Scottish Cottage, after hearing from some veteran attendees that it was the best food at the event. The wait was about 20 minutes but well worth it.
My sister and I finally got to experience our first taste of BBQ, Shepherd’s Pie, and the infamous haggis! I was surprised that I actually liked all of it, even the haggis! Then, for dessert, we decided to try something called, sticky pudding. Again, it was yummy!
Okay, I’ve told you all about how I found out about the games, my connection and interest in Scotland, and even the food at the games. Now let me tell you about the actual highland games!
If you’ve skimmed over the rest of the post trying to figure out what in the world highland games actually are, then this is the part that you’ll want to slow down and read.
What Are The Highland Games?
Highland games consist of events that are centered around Scottish and Celtic culture. They showcase heavy athletic events like the caber toss, stone put, sheaf toss, Scottish hammer throw, and more. The caber toss was my favorite heavy athletic event to watch. Basically the athletes have to first balance a long log in their hands and then run and toss a log end over end. It’s pretty impressive to watch!
Other events that are held at Highland games are sheep herding demonstrations, wrestling, Scottish dancing competitions, and competitions for different instruments like the drums, bagpipes, harp, and other instruments. There’s also a marathon that starts early on Saturday and ends on the track at the games as well as other races throughout the day.
Off the field, you can find amazing music, activities for kids, workshops centered around the Scottish culture, shopping, and more. We just happened to stumble upon a man teaching Gaelic so we stopped to listen for a bit. “Gaelicis a Goidelic language of the Celtic and Indo-European language family, native to the Gaels of Scotland.” –Wikipedia. It was fun to try to speak some common phrases in Gaelic.
I Found My Clan
Another fun exhibit of the Highland games are the clan tents, which, at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, are located on the out skirts of the field. They are lined all around the outside of the field and many clans are represented there. Since I had conducted some research on my family through Ancestry.com, I decided to write down what I knew and take it with me to the games. I wanted to find out what Scottish clan I could belong to.
After talking to a few people and being directed to a tent that helps you find your clan and their tartan, or plaid pattern, I believe I found my clan! If my research is correct, I can belong to clan Innes and clan Ross. It’s been so exciting to learn so much family history this summer and even finding out what Scottish clan I can belong to. That was incredible! All of these athletic events, cultural exhibits, and more are at The Grandfather Mountain Highland Games that I attended and I’m sure are featured at other Highland games throughout the world.
There’s a Concert Too!
Remember how I said there was music at the games? Well, there’s not only music during the games, but there is a concert on Friday and Saturday after the Highland games at Grandfather Mountain! We only attended the Saturday night concert that consisted of traditional Celtic music. However, if I return for another Highland games event, I’m definitely checking out the Celtic rock concert on Friday night!
Would I Recommend The Highland Games to Others?
Now that I’ve told you about how I found out about the games and the events and exhibits that are there, you may be wondering if it’s an event that I would ever attend again and recommend to others. Yes and yes.
Attending the games was definitely new to me but I enjoyed it and definitely want to attend another one! I loved how everyone was so proud of their heritage and open to sharing their knowledge. The Highland games allowed me to try new food, see new sporting events, new styles of dancing, and listen to all the bagpipes one could ever want to hear.
I would recommend others go check out Highland games if they want to experience a new culture. And if you do have Scottish ancestry, you basically must attend! Go to a highland games event if you just want to see new sporting events, dancing, or listen to other music. I’m sure anyone that goes can find something that will spark their interest.
If you do decide to attend the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, then be sure to check out these tips before you go!
I hope that this was fun and informative for you to read. If nothing else, I hope it inspires you to go out and learn about a new culture or go to a new event! You never know what you’ll end up learning or experiencing!
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