The Scottish Games return to the Alameda County Fairgrounds Labor Day weekend. (Photo Courtesy of Caledonian Club of San Francisco) 
The Scottish Games return to the Alameda County Fairgrounds Labor Day weekend. (Photo Courtesy of Caledonian Club of San Francisco) 
The Scottish Games return to the Alameda County Fairgrounds Labor Day weekend. (Photo Courtesy of Caledonian Club of San Francisco) 
The Scottish Games return to the Alameda County Fairgrounds Labor Day weekend. (Photo Courtesy of Caledonian Club of San Francisco)
One of California’s longest-running sporting events returns for its 159th year this Labor Day weekend at the Alameda County Fairgrounds.
Hosted by the Caledonian Club of San Francisco and founded in 1866, the Scottish Highland Gathering and Games predates the modern Olympic Games by 30 years.
This year’s games has headline-making competition and brand-new attractions to bring in visitors. For the second time, the Caledonian Club will host the Women’s Scottish Heavy Athletics World Championships.
The competition, including hammer throws, caber tosses and weight-for-height events, brings together elite female athletes from around the globe.
“The Caledonian Club of San Francisco’s annual Scottish Highland Gathering & Games has proudly hosted the U.S. Scottish Heavy Athletics Championships since their inception in 1975,” said William Hardie, chief of the club. “This year, we are especially delighted to additionally host the Women’s World Scottish Heavy Athletics Championship, where some of the world’s elite athletes will compete in all the traditional events, for the coveted title of World Champion.”
“This year’s competition features an exceptional lineup, including reigning five-time Women’s World Champion Meagan McKee of San Jose, alongside elite athletes from the U.S., Canada, and Scotland,” Hardie added.
Other festivities over the weekend will be featured on the six stages, including music from over 200 piping and drumming competitors, Celtic rock bands, Scottish folk musicians, and country dancing. Whisky tastings, Scotch eggs, fish and chips, meat pies, sausage rolls and more will also be part of the games.
“Beyond the music and sport, the Games feature engaging exhibitions such as Living History reenactments, classic British cars, Birds of Prey and Celtic animals (including a Highland cow),” Hardie told the Pleasanton Weekly.
New this year is the games’ castle facade and gate leading into the “Living History Exhibition”. Modeled after Inverness Castle, where Shakespeare’s Macbeth slew Duncan, the exhibition includes an immersive experience. Visitors can meet Mary, Queen of Scots, and even get knighted by the queen. 16th-century crafts, stamp collecting and military drills will also be part of the experience.
The games have always been a celebration of Scottish culture and history. The Caledonian Club of San Francisco is one of the oldest Scottish societies in the United States and the Highland Games is the oldest of its kind on this side of the Atlantic. This year’s games will include 74 clans and Scottish societies, and will be visited by Andrew Carmichael, a representative of the Honoured Clan Carmichael.
Longtime visitors of the Highland Games will get to experience once more the famous Kilted Mile Race, a foot-race along America’s oldest one-mile horse track. New visitors should be eager to see it, as the games’s Kilted Mile Race is the only of its kind in the United States.
The sheepdog trials, which have been a Scottish Games mainstay since 1996, will also be occurring this year for anyone eager to watch their furry friends.
Both days of the games open and close with the Grandstand Show, featuring traditions, pageantry and entertainment as well as performances from the Massed Bands.
The games will start at 8 a.m. and end at 6 p.m. this Saturday and Sunday (Aug. 30-31).
Following this year, the Scottish Games will continue to be hosted at the Alameda County Fairgrounds until at least 2029, under a recently signed agreement with the Caledonian Club.
