Winston, Oregon – Don’t miss the Douglas County Scottish Society’s 2009 (17^th Annual!) Highland Games & Clan Gathering in beautiful Riverbend Park!  Settle down on the grass Friday, August 14 at 6:30pm for a FREE concert featuring Golden Bough.  Other featured entertainers during the weekend include our local Janet Naylor on the Clarsach (Celtic harp), pipers Jesse Gragg, Heidi Wood, Dr. David MacDonald, Erika Thornsen, Scottish Country Dancers, author/bard Linda McDonald-Lewis and others.  The Games run Saturday from 9am – 5pm (with entertainment continuing until 9pm), and Sunday from 9am - 4pm.  Enjoy athletic competitions, Celtic goods (jewelry, books, clothing, swords, kilts, T-shirts, coffee, tea, household goods, Celtic canned foods, etc.), traditional foods, children’s games, Jacob’s sheep, Clydesdale horses, agility dog trials, live stage entertainment all day each day, the Parade of Clans (each day at noon), the Kirkin of the Tartan (non-denominational service Sunday at 8 a.m.) and the Crooked Kilt (Celtic pub, opening at 5 on Friday, and 11 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday).  Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for seniors (ages 65 and above) and $5 for children (ages 4-12).  Group Rate: $5 (for groups aimed at helping disadvantaged individuals).   True redheads can expect to get in for free from 9am - 10am on Saturday only.  RV and tent camping are available along the river - $10 for tents and $15 for RVs each night (fully self-contained only-no hookups). 

The event kicks off with a FREE concert, or Ceilidh (kay-lee, a musical party!) on Friday, August 14^th at 6:30pm.    Bring your blankets and enjoy the sweet sounds of traditional Celtic folk music. You’ll hear haunting ballads, mythological tales and lively sing-alongs. Next, the emotion and power of the Great Highland Bagpipe and various ethnic instruments explode into the sounds of the tribal Highlands, Ireland and the many lands graced by the Gaelic people.  You won’t be able to stop dancing! Eat dinner with us that night and sample traditional Celtic foods, fun desserts and traditional Scottish ales in the Crooked Kilt, our Celtic pub.

The Games kick-off at 9am on Saturday, August 15.  This is your chance to experience an event that dates back at least a thousand years to early trials where Scottish kings orchestrated tests of skill and strength to select the strongest and best men for their armies.  In this century, the Games are a place for folks of Celtic descent (and their friends!) to enjoy fine wares, music, dancing, competition, fellowship and heritage.  Trace your ancestry and meet long-lost family members!  The Games feature the Oregon State Athletics Championship.  Several athletes have broken world records at our Games!  Watch our heavy athletics director, Rick Baird of Sutherlin, as he competes in the Caber Toss.  He's recently taken part in the Scottish World Athletics Championship in Inverness, Scotland!  In 2006, he was ranked third in the world in his class – he throws a 100+ caber (think telephone pole!) like it was a matchstick.  Contests include the stone throw, weight for distance and caber toss.  Stop by the Edged Weapons Competition and listen to the whistle of arrows, the clash of steel and the thump of axes!  Both competitions run Saturday and Sunday, with men and women competing.  Brand new competitors are welcome to compete in the novice classes, and both events have "children-only classes."
The Douglas County Scottish Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation all Celtic cultures and the provision of further education of Celtic culture.  Membership in the Society is open to anyone interested in Celtic culture.  For more information or to join, call (541) 673-7463