2009 New Hampshire Highland Games a Success

My family and I opted to go to the Highland Games on a whim - the weather was beautiful, we had nothing else planned and I thought that it would be a great and fun time for our (almost) two year old. So we loaded up our bags and loaded into the car. The Games were held at Loon Mountain in beautiful Lincoln, NH. It was a long drive and, thankfully my son slept in the car on the way up there.

The facility was very, very organized when it came to parking. Their designated parking areas were well marked and they had many staff members directing you to spots. Heated school buses transported us from the parking area, about 1/2 a mile away, to the event. When we got there, there were staff greeters directing us to the appropriate lines - one for people that had pre-purchased tickets, one for cash only purchasers for tickets at the gate and one for credit or debit purchasers at the gate. Admission fees were a hefty $70.00 per person, although our son got in for free. I wasn't expecting such a steep price for the ticket as the prices weren't posted anywhere near the gate, although I'm sure that if I dug a little bit online I probably would have found something detailing the prices.

Upon getting in, things tended to get pretty overwhelming. It was crowded and the vendors and tents weren't very well marked, although the actual lodge structures were well marked (Loon Mountain is a ski resort). People were packed in and while you could walk comfortably, it wasn't very fast and the flow was constant. In order to figure out where vendors (food, clothing and other merchandise), schedules and other tents were, one was "forced" to purchase a program. There wasn't anything handed out detailing where things could be found and things weren't very clearly or well marked.

However, I was pleasantly surprised by a number of things. The sheer number of vendors was astounding. They were selling a number of things from Scottish music to clothing and kilts to food and yarn. It was very impressive! The musical acts were also very impressive. Among the headliners were the Red Hot Chilli Pipers (my personal favorite!!) and Albannach rocked the crowds while other acts exposed the crowds to traditional Scottish dance and folk music. The amateur clans and bands were also very talented and wonderfully trained.

All in all, this was a wonderful time and generally pretty well done. I look forward to visiting the next Games!