Itasca Highland Games draw more than 10,000
Knobbly knees and tartan kilts, wailing bagpipes and haggis hurling gave visitors a taste of Scotland at this weekend's 29th annual Scottish Festival and Highland Games in Itasca.
Despite construction activity nearby and grass wet from recent heavy rains, organizers estimated more than 10,000 people came through the two-day festival held Friday and Saturday at Hamilton Lakes.
"Today the sun's come out. It's great to see the smiles on faces," said Gus Noble, president of Chicago Scots, the festival organizer.
The festival supports the group's mission to celebrate and promote Scottish culture and identity.
"We are the largest Scottish cultural society in the world," Noble said.
The event featured traditional Scottish fare and festival foods, Celtic bands, a Celtic marketplace and crafts, a Highland dance competition, a Dogs of Scotland agility show, and a variety of athletic activities, including hammer and sheaf tosses and a youth soccer tournament.
"We've been coming for years," said Jeff Harrison of Glenview, who was accompanied by his wife, Joanne. "My dad brought us to the games when it used to be in Grant Park in Chicago."
Though there were games and attractions for children, such as a petting zoo and art tent, the couple decided to leave their two kids with the grandparents this year to enjoy some dancing and the athletics.
Harrison said his Scottish ancestors moved to Canada five generations ago.
"I love hearing the bagpipes, people wearing kilts, love the tartan, Celtic feel of it all," he said.
"It's just a fun way to remember your heritage," Joanne added.
Jim Norton and his wife, Nikki, of Naperville, and their 3-year-old daughter, Cordelia, came to hear a relative play the bagpipes.
"It's wonderful. There's tons of things for kids to do and families," they said.
One of the big attractions was the sight of men throwing weights around at the Heavy Athletics Field.
"I like the sporting events. I like the dancing," said Richard Barrett of Indianapolis, who was visiting his daughter, Louise, in Chicago.
Nearly 20 years ago, his daughter competed in the Highland dance competition. "It's part of the heritage," Barrett said.
Louise, now 32, said she comes to watch "the men in kilts, especially when they are throwing big things."
A stage performance by Skerryvore - voted the best young Celtic band in Scotland - had the audience toe-tapping in their seats.
Proceeds from the festival benefit Scottish Home, a North Riverside nursing home Chicago Scots has supported for more than 100 years.
"We're the oldest charity in Illinois," Noble said, adding, "This year, we are building a new building for people with Alzheimer's disease."