Highland Games combine culture with wacky events

For two days this weekend, Hamilton Lakes in Itasca will be transformed into Scotland.

If you're there, you might see someone flipping over a 20-foot, 140-pound tree trunk.

Or you might see someone showing off his knees in a Scottish kilt.

And don't be surprised to see a 22-pound hammer or 16-pound river stone being thrown, or a bale of hay being flung over a high bar.

These are just some of the activities during the 26th annual Scottish Festival and Highland Games that will take place from 4 to 10 p.m. Friday, June 15, and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, June 16.

The festival and games are sponsored by the Chicago Scots. On behalf of the Illinois St. Andrew Society, the money raised from the festival and games will go to the Scottish Home, an assisted-living nursing facility, said Julia Witty, director of programming for the Chicago Scots. The Illinois Saint Andrew Society is the oldest 501(c) 3 charity in Illinois.

Exhibits and vendors will be open from 4 to 10 p.m. Friday, and the Highland Dance competition, Heavy Athletics Friday Night Fling, and crowning of the Heather Queen and Court also will take place Friday. A ceilidh, a celebration of traditional and contemporary Celtic music, will run from 7 to 10 p.m.

Several competitions will take place Saturday, including the Champion Supreme Piping and Drumming Competition and the Heavy Athletics U.S. Open Championship.

Many of the competitions, such as the Highland Dance competition, are qualifying matches for international contests, so people from all over the United States will compete.

The competitions involve traditional Scottish games. For example, the Heavy Athletics competition includes the caber toss, in which competitors flip a 20-foot, 140-pound tree trunk; a 22-pound hammer throw; the sheaf toss, which involves flinging a bale of hay over a high bar; and the clachneart, in which competitors throw a 16-pound river stone.

Volunteer coordinator Laura Nelsen believes these games are what truly make the festival unique.

“Where else can you see some guy flip basically a telephone pole in the air?” she asked.

People can participate in a variety of other contests, such as the Knobbly Knees contest, in which men sport Scottish kilts and show off their knees, or the Haggis Eating contest, where participants will eat the traditional Scottish food made of sheep's pluck, oatmeat, suet, lamb, onion and cayenne pepper.

There will be plenty of activities for children as well, including mini golf, crafts, carnival attractions and a youth soccer tournament.

Attendees also can enjoy traditional Scottish cuisine and shopping in the Celtic Marketplace, as well as a variety of musical performances on the Celtic rock stage.

“It's a meshing of traditional and contemporary Scottish celebration,” Witty said.

The festivities will culminate Saturday night with the Massed Bands Show, a performance of several musical selections by 1,000 bagpipers and drummers.

The event is free for children ages 12 and younger and $12 for adults Friday. The cost is $5 for children ages 3 to 12 and $20 for adults Saturday.

Patron weekend passes, $75 each, include a two-day pass for entry into the festival, premier seating, complimentary food and beverages and a private access VIP parking pass.

For information, event schedules, competition registration forms or to purchase tickets, visit chicagoscots.org.

“We welcome everyone who is Scottish by birth, heritage or inclination,” Witty said.

Nelsen said the festival gives people a chance to see what Scottish culture is like.

“I think it's nice to experience all different cultures,” she said.

Witty said 12,000 to 15,000 people have attended in the past, with the number being closer to 15,000 last year. The community response to the event's move from Oak Brook to Itasca a couple of years ago has been good, she said.

“We've seen an increase in people that are coming for the first time,” Witty said.

Ultimately, the festival and games aim to promote Scottish culture and to give people a way to connect to a heritage they may have a personal connection to or interest in.

“Especially for people who have any kind of love or interest in Scotland,” Witty said, “it's been a way for them to connect with that love without actually going to Scotland.”