Scottish Festival and Highland Games 2010

Jack practicing with his pipe band

Kevin in Highland dress-looking very fine

Coral and Lance check out a Scottish deer hound. There were many very well-bred dogs on parade.

We don't know why, but there was a booth with this owl on display-seriously cool to see up close. The fellas are all holding their refillable root beer bottles, one of the highlights of the event for them.

The weather was cold-40's and 50's- with intermittent driving rain showers. It was authentic in some ways, but definitely a problem at times. The shopping was not as plentiful, as many vendors had not braved the weather. We had great fun, though. The piping was fabulous, the athletes were burly, and the concerts were very entertaining. We became fans of Kirkmount, a local Celtic ensemble with roots in Nova Scotia-amazing harp, bones, fiddle and cello. Molly's Revenge was wonderful and the Wicked Tinkers were even more primal than in past years. We heard one pipe band play a long, hauntingly beautiful piece that they explained was an example of Pio Braireachd (phonetically-pea brook), an very ancient form of bag piping.

Lance and his brother Jonathon spent time chatting at the Montgomery Clan booth and looking up their tartan. India was cold and tired and spent time bundled up in Jack's band-the Salt Lake Scots- tent. Niall and Leith shopped for knives, which I have now confiscated, and drank tons of artisan root beer. And, Kevin walked around looking good in his kilt.

Here are some videos of the guys trying the very manly sport of Caber Tossing: