2023 DATE: June 23-24, 2023
AUTHOR’S NOTE: The festival changed its location in 2020.
This post documents my experience on June 23, 2012.
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When I started blogging about festivals, I had only assumed that the Ohio Scottish Games consisted of an all-day sporting event where people hung around in field, tossed some telephone poles around and brought coolers filled with haggis pita sandwiches and A&W root beer.
I guess my imagination could get the better of me.
But just this year, I noticed a seemingly new phrase following the event title – “Festival of the Arts” – and knew I now had to attend!
Celebrating its 35th year, the Scottish Games took place at the Lorain County Fairgrounds, where not only was there plenty of space…
…for bagpipers to spread out and practice before upcoming performances…
…but there were many enclosures to house competitions in music and dance…
…a handful of highland animals…
…and an entire Clan Village!
At the Clan Village….
…families of Scottish descent lined themselves down the aisles…
…showcasing various displays…
…and offering free candy.
Yum!
And while organizations and family booths helped you find your own Scottish roots (if present)…
…it was also interesting to learn the histories of other familiar family names…
…especially those from our youth…
…that we first saw on the silver screen.
Beyond the enclosures….
…vendor booths at a central market sold jewelry and art…
…while others down the road offered Scottish clothing…
…for both the modern Celtic lass…
…and the traditional Scotsman.
I should also mention that there was a bagpipe vendor (Gibson)…
…in case you sporadically wanted to play a tune with the many others…
…the many, many, many others.
Food-wise, I thought the festival was impressive…
…with not only Welsh cookies…
…and various other Celtic baked goods (House of Douglas)…
…but also some decent food vendors that sold Irish and Scottish grub…
…including a scoop of haggis on “chips”!
Between the shopping and eating, there were various attractions that took place all over the grounds..
Kids had a handful of inflatables to jump in…
…while a nearby booth celebrated the “Brave” release…
…and gave them wigs to better look like Merida.
Adults, meanwhile…
…could head to a recruitment station in the middle of the festival…
…admire the arms…
…chat with some re-enactors…
…and possibly train against the Redcoats.
But if impaling wasn’t your thing…
…you could check out a rather peaceful sheep herding demonstration…
…or head to the tent at the edge of the festival grounds…
…for some beer and music entertainment.
Or, like the thousands of others….
…you could head to the stands…
…be amazed how many bagpipers there actually were…
…and then cheer on the games!
Fortunately for me…
…I got to see some throws of the caber toss…
…which included some close calls for both the athlete…
…and a close call for myself.
Of course, once I stopped filming that last video, the announcer reminded us that this wasn’t television and that it was in our best interest to run out of the caber’s way if it happened to come down.
Wise advice, indeed!