Lucas Highland Games Weekend Recap!

Heading up your own games is always a tricky undertaking for the athletic directors and event coordinators; full of responsibility, risk, and emotional investment in the success of the event. From arranging location, to promotion, to athlete entries, to award planning, it is enough to make your head spin just trying to make a to-do list to even get started. Those that pull it off with aplomb are a rare breed; Doug and Jera Kressly are just such a pair. The first year of Highland Games at the Lucas Apple Festival was a rousing success.

IHGF Women’s World Championships - Recap

Where to begin! Getting the nod from fellow throwers and an invite from the IHGF to the “Women’s Worlds” was a pretty giddy day for me. Any event called a ‘world championship’ is bound to be pretty exciting.

Kansas City Scottish Highland Games - Recap Continues!

June is a month rich with highland games opportunities and Kansas City’s offering is an excellent choice. This year they hosted the Under 190 National Championship in addition to three men’s master’s , three women’s (including a master’s) and three men’s classes. A two day game with three trigs and two height standards on a massive field there is defiantly room for every thrower in your group to stretch out and go for broke on their throws.

Texas Scottish Festival - Recap!

Texas Scottish Festival, in Arlington, Texas, boasts three days of throwing, live music, shopping and history for attendants.  Two separate fields at opposite ends of the festival allow crowds to see the the whole festival while visiting throwing events on each end. The main field sits just next to the main music stage, offering up a variety of Celtic music throughout the day and well into the evening.

Wichita "Do-Da" Recap!

Wichita Highland Games and Celtic Festival was a new and expanding show in its second year. A soft-side, tents-only festival in an open public park, it offered music, food and plentiful shade.  The feel was that of a Celtic festival crossed with a fantasy faire. The festival was well-run, with lots of room for future growth among the vendors and performance stages.

Scarby, Recapping the Home Game!

This year saw all Texas throwers, all the time, in the Women’s class at Scarborough Faire Highland Fling (held within the Scarborough Renaissance Festival grounds in Waxahachie, Texas). While the field may be small in size and number of throwers, it is big on heart and tradition.

Th' Gatherin' - Recapping

There is no more unique way to experience Highland Games and the culture that surrounds it than to explore Th’ Gatherin’ of the Ancient Festival O’ Beltane.  Held in the town of Wakeeney, Kansas, in late April Th’ Gatherin’ is a full weekend affair. Think Burning Man meets Highland Games, and you have a pretty good idea of the feel that the Wakeeney Games carry.  Camping opens on Friday night and campers start setting up early to claim the best spots. Many of the gamers will spend the weekend trekking back and forth from the field to the campsites.