Blairsville Scottish Festival and Highland Games - Blairsville, GA

Nestling deep in the North Georgia Mountains rests Meeks Park, the location of the annual Blairsville Scottish Festival and Highland Games. Each June, Blairsville plays host to a Scots who come together in a very family-friendly atmosphere to play traditional Scottish games, discuss Scottish genealogy and clans, and offer visitors a glimpse of Celtic arts.

This two-day event includes a parade of tartans, where the clans represented in the festival enter the main park area to the sounds of bagpipes and show off their clan plaids, demonstrations on weaponry and fighting techniques and the ever-impressive games. Within the games, contestants battle it out in open stone put, caber toss, sheaf toss and hammer throw. The open stone put consists of contestants tossing a stone that weighs 16 to 22 pounds. The caber toss invites competitors to turn the caber--that is, toss a long pine pole in the air so that it lands in a 12 o'clock position, as it relates to the direction of the sun. Sheaf toss requires participants to toss a burlap bundle of straw with a pitchfork over a a raised bar. These competitions offers visitors a glimpse into the games that the Scots participated in olden days and often adds an air of delight, as all the competitors participate in their tartan kilts.

Music is another key event at the Blairsville Scottish Festival and Highland Games. Between the fiddles and bagpipes, there seems to always be Celtic music playing. The festival also hosts a fiddle and bagpipe workshop for visitors who would like to learn the art of Scottish music. Musical groups, including past performers Hunting McLeod, are on stage on the hour, with a special concert planned on Saturday night.

If you are feeling particularly Scottish in June, check out the Blairsville Scottish Festival and Highland Games. Between the pipes and drums, exotic animals, and the bridies and pies, there is something for everyone in the family. For more information on this year's schedule and directions, please visit the Blairsville Scottish Festival and Highland Games' web site at http://blairsvillescottishfestival.org/index.html.