Kentucky Scottish Weekend
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Kentucky Scottish Weekend is a regional highland game held annually at General Butler State Resort Park in Carrollton, Kentucky. The weekend's mission is to celebrate the customs and traditions of Scotland.[1] It is held each year on the second full weekend in May. First held in 1983, the weekend celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2007, and is the longest running highland game currently being held in Kentucky. It is held in Carrollton due to that location being nearly halfway between Louisville and Cincinnati.[2] A Kentucky non-profit corporation—Kentucky Scottish Weekend, Inc.—holds the event.
The weekend is one of three regional highland games in Kentucky. The others are the Glasgow Highland Games in Glasgow and the West Kentucky Highland Festival in Murray, founded in 1986 and 1998, respectively.[3]
A variety of vendors usually attend the event. Items sold include Scottish and American food items, Celtic collectibles, kilts, Scottish music, Clan memorabilia, and Scottish heathers.
Contents |
[edit] Events
- Athletic competitions, including:
- Caber tossing
- Hammer throw - 22 lb (10.0 kg).
- Sheaf toss
- Stone throw
- Weight throw - 28 and 56 lb (25 kg).
- Weight toss - 56 lb (25 kg).
- Bagpipe and drumming competitions (the event is recognized by the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association)
- Several regional pipe bands regularly compete at the weekend, including Cincinnati Caledonian Pipes and Drums and the Louisville Pipe Band
- Bonniest knees contest (where men compete for the "best" set of knees; judged by females and through touch alone)
- Border Collie demonstrations
- British car show
- Ceilidh on Saturday night
- Clan booths
- Kirking of the Tartan (non-denominational church service) on Sunday morning
- Opening ceremony with massed bands
- Parade of Tartans
- Pipe band concerts
- Scottish folk music concerts
- Scottish highland dancing competitions and demonstrations
- Wellie toss contest (where women compete to see who can throw a boot the farthest)
[edit] Entertainers
Alex Beaton has been the featured performer and emcee at the Kentucky Scottish Weekend since 1989. In recent years, other performers have included Seven Nations, the Glengarry Bhoys, and Wicked Tinkers.
[edit] References
- ^ Kentucky Scottish Weekend. Kentucky Scottish Weekend, Inc. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
- ^ Clans to celebrate Scot traditions, Kentucky Scottish Weekend teaches history with festival. Roundabout Madison Indiana. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
- ^ The U.S. SCOTS Directory of Scottish Highland Games and Celtic Festivals: Events in Kentucky. U.S. SCOTS. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
[edit] External links
- Kentucky Scottish Weekend website
- General Butler State Resort Park website
- Glasgow Highland Games website
- West Kentucky Highland Festival website
- The Eastern United States Pipe Band Association (EUSPBA) website
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
