I've been wanting to go to the Scotland Connecticut Highland Games for the past four years. The weather just wasn't in my favor. This year I was determined - I was going rain or shine, and to my amazement it turned out to be a gorgeous day. As soon as we arrived, we started seeing people dressed in their traditional clan tartans, happy to pose for a photo.
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| We had arrived about lunch time, so headed straight for the food truck area to get our fill of Scottish cuisine! |
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| I ordered traditional deep fried fish and chips (french fries) |
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| Linda ordered a Hagis Puff (beef liver, onions and spices) |
We sat across from members of the Buchanan Clan, who explained to us that the husband joins his wife's clan when he marries and their children are part of their mother's clan. However, a wikipedia search of tartans seemed to say the opposite. Hmmm?
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| After lunch, we wandered over to the parade grounds - Note the New England Fall foliage in the background! |
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| At attention for Clan Roll Call |
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| Members of each clan wave their tartan flags and yell out hardy affirmatives! |
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| Bagpipes and drums |
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| Changing direction |
Next, we were off to see demonstrations, vendors, and competitions.
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| Cooking demonstrations |
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| You can have tartan trews made to measure for a mere $395.00 |
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| A Rampant Lion Sporran sells for $195.00 |
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| Tartan Scarves are labeled by clan name |
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| Men's Scottish tweed flat caps |
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| Fine quality hand bags and wallets |
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| Bagpipers assemble and await instruction |
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| The march begins |
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| You can find out which section of Scotland your clan is from on maps like this one in the Clan Village |
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| Each clan displays information in their own tent, set up in the village |
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| A country dance demonstration |
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| weight toss,... |
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| and caber toss |
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| All occurring at the same time, on the same field - there is always something going on! |
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| The caber toss requires both strength and balance. These women gave it a valiant effort! |
With all we saw, we still missed the harp demonstration, storytellers, and some entertainment. Oh well, there's always next year!
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The Pringle Plan is a series of educational guides.
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