Gatlinburg Scottish Festival & Highland Games

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Just got home from the Gatlinburg Scottish Festival. Saturday was great. It was sunny, and generally good weather. A bit humid and it got a mite hot at times, but there was enough of a breeze to keep you cool. Pretty good crowds. The Scottish Tartans Museum info tent was fairly busy all day. Helped quite a few people find their tartan, answered lots of questions, and talked to several folks about getting kilts.

Sunday was another story -- it rained pretty heavily Saturday night so the field was a swamp on Sunday morning. And it continued to rain off and on lightly throughout the day. The rain itself wasn't actually that bad, but it prevented the field from ever drying out, so the mud just kept getting worse and worse. The temperature was nice and cool, but the crowds were just non existant. Most of the clan societies started packing things up after 2pm.

Anyway, I have a few pics, mostly from Saturday.

First, a gathering of X Markers. (We need a word for that... a flock? gaggle? herd?)


Kilts on the hoof!

Windy Knoll Farms provided the sheep and dogs for the border collie demonstrtations, and between shows the sheep were herded right through the Games, getting right up close and personal with the patrons and visitors. My wife snapped this shot.

Speaking of my wife...

She just completed a skirt for herself made from scrap left over from various kiltmaking endeavors. She isn't entirely pleased with how it turned out, but she sure got a lot of compliments on it during the day. Maybe an addition for the "Lasses Wear" thread?

Here I am, posing out behind the STM tent.

If I look hot, it might be because of all that wool I'm wearing....

On the other hand, all that wool kept me nice and comfy on Sunday, when it was about 20 degrees cooler due to the rain. Here I am waiting for our fine breakfast establishment to open, taking advantage of their large covered porch.


Only the true die-hards braved the mud and rain on Sunday. The men of Clan Barclay know how to properly accessorize their footwear for the occasion.

Chris calls these his "Gatlinboots."

Of course, Gatlinburg is only about an hour and a half drive north of Franklin on 441. Half of that drive is through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I'll end this post with a couple of shots of what I got to see on my commute home this afternoon.





Anyone else who has pics from Gatlinburg please feel free to add to this thread.

[KFCarter]

It's a shame it rained, but it looks like a beautiful location for games. A great looking bunch of X-markers and Matt, looking sharp as a tack as always... wish I could have made it up there, mud and all!

[BEEDEE]

Great photos, sorry the second day was a washout. That front hit us about 12:00 noon and has been raining steadily since.

First, a gathering of X Markers. (We need a word for that... a flock? gaggle? herd?)

An EXEMPTION of X-markers, perhaps.

Brian

[Mael Coluim]

Great pix, Matt! Beautiful scenery.

[Sionnach]

Very nice pictures. I think your wife's skirt is lovely, too. All of you look great, and the mountains beautiful.

[ozth3dog]

great pics. I wish i had some of that scenery where I live. all i have are buildings.

[piperdbh]

My lovely young wife and I were at Gatlinburg on Saturday and enjoyed catching up with some X-Markers and meeting new folks. We weren't in the group shot that Matt posted above because we were perusing the vendors' tents, where I found a size 8 1/2 bottle green Balmoral that, believe it or not, is a little big on me!

Here's a couple of group shots of some of us at the Clan Barclay tent. Left to right: Peter C., TNKiltedWolf, Heath Bar, Barclay, and me, piperdbh. (Notice my non-trad footwear. They are Keen shoes, and were very nice on the slick, muddy field.)




Barclay had an idea that we recreate some of the poses we've seen on XMTS, and we settled on the ones you're about to see. These three shots are our tributes to Hamish, RiverKilt and McMurdo. We hope you enjoy them.







This was my first time attending the Gatlinburg games, but hopefully won't be the last. Thanks to our hosts at the Clan Barclay tent for hosting us and for adding to the enjoyment of the day.

[Ancienne Alliance]

Fantastic pictures Mat .

I simply loved the tartan waist jacket with the solid colour outfit.... + the diced hose , garters, excellent sporran... etc. etc.


Best,

Robert

[McMurdo]

Great photos, I really like the McMurdo, OK so I'm a wee bit biased. Matt you look great as always, wish we could have been down for that one even with the rain. Thanks all for the photos. Matt, Catherine was saying she thinks she knows where you took the scenery pics on your way home.

[SFCRick]

great photos of a fine looking time