Scottish Festival aims to share Highland culture
If you have Scottish blood coursing through your veins, the Scottish Festival and Highland Games feel like “home” with its familiar Celtic dancing, sports that involve the throwing of heavy, awkward objects and a view of knobby knees below the hems of kilts.
And for those of other backgrounds, the 31st annual festival this weekend in Itasca offers a glimpse of Highland culture that goes beyond bagpipes and whiskey - though those touchstones certainly will be represented as well.
Organizers from the Chicago Scots have planned two days of Celtic music, dancing, rugby, soccer, the traditional “heavy athletics” events, dog agility demonstrations, a British car show, bagpipe playing, haggis hurling contests and, of course, a chance to take a whiskey master class.
“We're a unique event,” said Gus Noble, Chicago Scots president. “This is an opportunity to make good on our cultural mission.”
That mission is to bring a bit of “home” to Scottish natives living here and to bring a taste of Scottish culture to the area.
One of the oldest nonprofit charities in Illinois, the Chicago Scots was established in 1845 as the Illinois Saint Andrew Society. In 1910, the Chicago Scots built the Scottish Home nursing home in North Riverside.
“You don't have to be Scottish to live at the Scottish Home, by any means,” Noble said.
Last August, the Chicago Scots opened the Caledonian House on the Scottish Home campus. Noble said the state-of-the-art facility serves residents with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.
It was designed to create a non-institutional atmosphere, without long corridors, nursing stations or overhead paging systems. Instead, he said, the house has a residential kitchen, an open floor plan and a cozy fireplace, giving it a homey feeling where a sense of family is encouraged.
The Scottish Festival is a fundraiser that supports both facilities, he said.
The festival draws people from all over the region, including Scottish clans with extended families.
The Celtic rock stage will feature performances by Cleghorn and American Rogues on both Friday and Saturday.
“My band is going to play this year,” Noble said. “I'm from Scotland. John Ballantyne, my band leader, is from Scotland.”
The Friday performance by Crazy Heart, a Chicago country band that specializes in “honky tonk” and features Noble on bass guitar, is set for 7:30 p.m.
Saturday shows also will include Jon Langford, Robbie Fulks and Alexandria Rust.
The heavy athletics, known as the Highland Games, begin at 4 p.m. Friday and continue from 9:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, when the games ceremoniously conclude with a haggis hurling contest, which involves chucking a frozen haggis as far as possible, followed by a haggis eating contest.
Other heavy athletics events involve throwing stones and hammers and tossing an object known as a caber that resembles a telephone pole.
Dozens of pipe bands will compete Saturday in the Midwest Pipe Band Championship, culminating with a special event around 6 p.m. Saturday.
“The bands come together and march and play together,” Noble said. “There are more than 1,000 bagpipers and drummers. It's really a sight and sound. We have this moment when we play 'Amazing Grace' and remember those we've lost in the community. You could hear a pin drop.”
Noble said the event drew a crowd of about 12,000 people last year, but attendance varies with the weather.
“I'm expecting certainly that many this year,” he said. “If the sun is shining, I'm hoping we can break records.”
31st annual Scottish Festival and Highland Games
Where: Hamilton Lakes, 1 Pierce Plaza, Itasca
When: 1 to 10 p.m. Friday, June 16; 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, June 17
Tickets: Friday-only tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors 60 and older, free for children 12 and younger; Saturday-only tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors, $8 for ages 4 to 12, free for younger children; two-day passes are $30 for adults, $22.50 for seniors, $8 for ages 4 to 12, free for younger children
Info: (708) 447-5092 or