Her family has roots in Alma, Michigan where her grandfather organized the first Alma Highland Games and Festival in 1968 which celebrate all things Scottish. Being half Scottish, I was thrilled to go to a town nicknamed Scotland, USA! The festival has happened annually for the past forty four years and it was well worth the long drive to check out all of the events.
The day started with a race. I didn't participate but I would have if I had known dogs would also be running!
A parade followed. I'm really not sure how to say this delicately but a woman who was walking with one of the first floats tripped over her feet while between the truck and the float and got run over! It happened directly in front of us and everybody was totally stunned. More than a few of us avoided eye contact for fear we'd burst into nervous laughter. I've since tried to google it but haven't found any updates on her condition. There was no blood or guts and she was conscious and able to move when the ambulance took her to the hospital, so I'm just going to assume there was a happy ending. The rest of the parade was happily uneventful!
Everyone loves the bagpipes!
Please note that these dogs are wearing kilts.
Not Scottish but I've always wanted to ride a riding lawn mower!
Lucky for her, Mini Bear is too small to fit in the gallows.
Celebrating one hundred years, the Toronto Police Pipe Band participated in the festival.
We watched some goat herding and learned that border collies are so named because they hail from the border of Scotland and England.
I love a good strong man competition as much as the next guy and this did not disappoint. There was a traditional stone toss in which competitors hurl a twenty eight pound stone. It's similar to the discus but the stone has a flexible handle. I think the winning throw was in the neighborhood of eighty eight feet!
The only way to follow the stone toss is with a kaber toss! I think this event best typifies the beautiful ridiculousness of my Scottish forefathers. Competitors have to lift up the kaber, which is around twenty feet tall, and try to keep it steady in order throw it granny style so that it flies end over end before landing. The majority of the competitors will end up speed walking in all directions in an attempt to balance the enormous kaber and most of them won't succeed in flipping it end over end (in my book, just picking it up is an accomplishment!). I can only imagine how much scotch was consumed before my first ancestor convinced his buddies this was a good use of their time!
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