Traditions come alive at Scottish Highland Games

After an extra stressful week, I so looked forward to spending a whole day at the 43rd annual Scottish Highland Games on June 29. It had been on my calendar for over a month, but I hadn't been sure I'd be able to attend.

This was not my first experience at the Games. That was back in the 1980s when our children were young and it was held on the grounds of the Eagle River Lions Club. My husband, Gary, had just learned that he came from a Scottish background, rather than Irish. That day in Eagle River, we enjoyed our introduction to all things Scottish, especially the saber toss. Thirty years later, Gary and I attended again. By this time, the Games had been relocated to the Palmer fairgrounds. But, Gary had limited mobility by then and was not able to wander around and take in the various activities as much as I would have liked.

So now in 2024, I studied the detailed program of events at home, strategizing how to make efficient use of my day. The Alaskan Scottish Salmon Toss sounded intriguing and I was excited to learn the highlight was to be the Women's World Championship, featuring 10 women athletes from the USA, Canada and Australia.

I'd heard it might rain, so packed my raincoat, but the sky looked so clear and the temperature so warm, I decided to wear my straw hat to prevent sunburn. Wallet, camera, paper, pen, water, and I was off-in the mood for fun and adventure. And I got a full day's worth! I bought a ticket for one day and hurried to the Borealis Theatre (renamed Ceilidh Theatre for the weekend) just in time for the opening ceremonies at 10 a.m.

After that, I took a quick walkabout among the 150 merchants and food trucks lining the walkways. The atmosphere was just like being at the Alaska State Fair (including the food aromas), only no rain. The groomed flowerbeds already sported lovely blossoms. I hurried back to the Borealis Theatre for "Ally the Piper"-an excellent one-girl performance of bagpipes and penny whistle. She became famous on social media during the pandemic, playing bagpipe music to a rock background. Her music was so loud that I had to move back to the grassy area, and was glad to have my raincoat to sit on.

From there I went to where the men athletes had just finished the "heavy events" and listened to one competitor from San Diego answer questions from spectators. He recently completed his 19th year of Scottish Highland Games competitions (with Alaska being his 46th state), participating in 13 to 15 a year.

Then it was on to the women's competition where I watched the rock throw until I realized it was time to return to the Borealis Theatre for the next concert, the Harp Twins.

The Harp Twins from Illinois are young twin blond girls (Norwegian background) with a wonderful sense of humor who play unconventional harp music. They compose their own music as well as performing covers. I have never cared for rock music like AC/DC and Aerosmith, but done by the Harp Twins, it was fabulous. When they introduced the Volfgang Twins from Pennsylvania (Viking background), the music ramped up a notch. The twin brothers, whose attire looked the part, beat drums decorated with deer hides and antlers, sometimes with all their might, with never a smile until the very end of the show. I recommend an internet search for these two sets of twins to get a feel for their music. If the background of some of the music videos looks familiar, it's because they were filmed in Alaska.

There isn't room to describe in detail all the rest of the events I enjoyed. But, they included watching several teams compete in tug of war, men demonstrating the sheaf toss (throwing the sheaf high in the air over a horizontal bar using a pitch fork), the men's "weight over a bar" event, the saber toss, and the Haggis eating competition.

Numerous men wore kilts, both competitors and fairgoers. I've never seen so many large bellied kilt wearers, including the athletes.

The only not fun activity of my day was standing in the hot sun for 45 minutes ordering and then waiting for a delicious pastrami hamburger, which I enjoyed while watching the tug of wars. Even then, while standing in the food truck line, I could hear the music of many dance groups performing and competing on a nearby stage.

At one point in the afternoon when I was physically dragging, I had to make the decision whether to leave and go home for my daily nap, or find somewhere to "rest" on the grounds.

Deciding to stay, I sought out one of the wooden pavilions, which would at least provide shade, if it wasn't jam packed full. I was in luck and found an empty third of a picnic table bench near the back of the pavilion. Gathering my belongings into my lap, I leaned over and rested my head on my arms. To my surprise, about five minutes later, the air was filled with enjoyable music. With a quick peek at my brochure, I learned it was the Rogues and Wenches playing a set in the Highland Pub. There was only a plastic web fence between the back of the pavilion and the back of the pub band stage.

I didn't plan to nap, but drifted off. Awaking with a start, I looked at my watch and realized I'd have to hurry to catch the second performance of the Harp and Volfgang twins. In the earlier concert, they said their second show would feature different songs. I didn't want to miss the Salmon Toss at 5 p.m., but I didn't tear myself away from the twins in time for that, but did accidently catch the end of the Haggis eating contest.

I had missed the first performance of SYR (heavy metal Celtic band) earlier in the day, but heard their music blasting out of the Borealis Theatre while walking the fair grounds. Although I was unfamiliar with this band, I'd overhead lots of "buzz" during the day, that SYR was the concert to attend. I didn't think it was my kind of music, but decided I was not ready to call it a day yet and went to hear them at 5:45 p.m.

The heat of the direct sun was unbearable, so I joined several others in the shade of the back wall of the grassy area of the Borealis Theatre, again using my raincoat to sit on. One family of three, with a girl of about four years, all dressed in Scottish garb, danced with abandon during several songs, but crowd attendance was not even half that of the Harp and Volfgang Twins. It wasn't until the third song, that I recognized a Celtic flavor to the music, but I did stay for the whole hour before calling it a day and reluctantly walking to the parking lot.

On July 4, while at the Palmer Pioneer Home with Gary, I briefly saw the administrator, who was there with his family on his day off, visiting the two summer resident goats. Since he sometimes plays his bagpipes for Pioneer Home activities, I asked if he had participated in any way at the Scottish Highland Games. He said he was a judge for the "piping" and that the second day of Games (Sunday) was not as nice because of rain.

The Alaskan Scottish Club, good timing, and good weather all worked together and provided one of the best days of my summer.

Note: The Scottish Highland Games always take place the last weekend in June.

Maraley McMichael is a lifelong Alaska currently residing in Palmer. Email her at maraleymcmichael@gmail.com.