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The 158th Scottish Highland Gathering and Games is set to return to the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton this Labor Day weekend to celebrate competition, culture and entertainment.Â
As the largest and longest-running Scottish Games in California, attendees can expect to be immersed in the heritage of Scotland through music, dance, heavy athletics, food, drink and more.
Game day favorites from heavy athletics events will be back at the fair’s race track. These are traditional Scottish competitions requiring strength and technique, said William Hardie, chief of the Caledonian Club of San Francisco, the society hosting the games.Â
Heavy athletics will include events like the caber toss, where a person throws a straight, long log into the air so it lands with its thrown end opposite the competitor.
Another form of athletic competition at the Scottish Games this year is the Celtic mile race. Anyone can participate in this mile-long event as long as they wear their kilt, Hardie explained.
Highland dancing, by performers of all ages, is yet another of the viewable competitions at the event.
There will also be an animal competition called the Sheepdog Trials, where Border Collies will compete for the title of best sheep herder.
Beyond athletics and trials there will be Scottish music, food, drinks and history-sharing.
“It’s not just about competitions,” Hardie said. “It’s about entertainment. It’s about ceremony.”
Visitors can be immersed in Scottish heritage with the event’s living history reenactments. Here, people will hold knighting ceremonies and afternoon tea sessions with the “queen” — all in period clothing.Â
The venue will also be filled with Scottish tunes. On the traditional side of musical performances, guests can expect bag piping, drumming and Scottish folk tunes. And on the more modern side will be the Celtic rock bands.
As for food, vendors will be selling authentic Scottish items like scones, savory pies, Scotch eggs, and fish and chips.
Visitors can even take part in a whiskey-tasting of Scotch, Irish, American, and international whiskies.
Hardie said the marketplace will also be a worthwhile stop for its United Kingdom-exclusive products.
“In Scotland, they have a drink called Irn Bru, which is a sugary soda. Everybody that grows up in Scotland swears by it, and it’s very difficult to buy over here,” Hardie said. “But there’s usually a couple of vendors that have it on sale, and you have to get in quick because it sells out quick.”
In addition to food and drink, vendors will be selling kilts, tartan ware (symbolic cloth with a pattern of criss-cross bands) and Scottish and Celtic jewelry.
Venturing into the center of the fairgrounds, visitors will find the Glen of the Clans, where family communities will display their tartans. Here, visitors can listen to families tell ancestral Scottish stories.
At the end of both game days is a must-see Grandstand Show, Hardie told the Weekly.
“The Grandstand Show encapsulates the ceremonial splendor, competitive spirit, and lively entertainment that define our Games,” first chieftain Ron Dunne said in a statement.Â
It will include performances by the Vancouver Irish Pipes and Drums Society from British Columbia, a guest military band and a “massed” band composed of hundreds of musicians performing at once.Â
The Scottish Games are hosted each year in Pleasanton by the Caledonian Club of San Francisco, a society created to keep alive ancient customs, costumes and games of Scotland, and to spread Scottish literature, music and arts, according to its website.
“It’s thanks to partners and sponsors like the fairgrounds and Visit Tri-Valley that we’re able to continue to keep putting the games on in Pleasanton,” Hardie said. “We hope to be doing it for another 30 years if we can.”
Prior to the fairgrounds celebration, the Caledonia Club is putting on a traditional Scottish dance and music performance at the San Ramon Marriott on Friday (Aug. 30). Performers at this event include Scottish folk singer Peter Daldry, fiddler Michael Mullen, Celtic folk musicians of the Katie Jane Band, the Vancouver Irish Pipes and Drums Society and more, according to the Scottish Games website.
This year’s Scottish Games at the county fair take place on Saturday (Aug. 31) and Sunday (Sept. 1) from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days. Tickets to the games and the Friday night concert are available for purchase at thescottishgames.com.
