North Alabama Scottish Festival

[MACKAY]

Saw this and thought it would be a good excuse for my 100th post

Dust off kilt for Scots fest in June
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
By ANNA THIBODEAUX

For the Madison Spirit madisonspirit@bellsouth.net
Clan MacDougall honorees this year; tartans on parade. It doesn't get any better for this year's North Alabama Scottish Festival and Highland games than with the honored clan MacDougall, a Scottish egg, a Parade of Tartans and some exceptionally clever sheep dogs.

Dust off your kilt for the 17th annual festival on June 18 at Dublin Memorial Park. Gates open at 9 a.m. and close at 4: 30 p.m.

"We're one of two Scottish festivals in Alabama," said festival chairman Phil Johnson. The other festival is in Montgomery. "It gives everyone the opportunity for everyone to come in and learn something about heritage, where our ancestors came from and hopefully leave understanding why we're proud to be of Scottish ancestry."

Sybil Wilkinson of Van Vaulkenburgh and Wilkinson Realty in Huntsville will represent the Clan MacDougall as this year's honored clan. Wilkinson has been an active member in the Tennessee Valley Scottish Society since its founding nearly 18 years ago, Johnson said.

A patrons reception will be held June 17. Reservations are required and tickets are $35 a person.

Opening ceremonies will be at 11:30 a.m. June 18 to include presentation of the honored clan followed by the Parade of Tartans. Each clan has a tartan or plaid design unique to the clan that they wear in the parade.

"Every tartan is plaid but not every plaid is tartan," Johnson said. "Each design is uniquely identified with each clan and registered with the Lord Lion's Court in Scotland as that family's tartan."

The men's Scottish Athletic competitions will follow the parade.

Stan Moore's ever popular border collies will return this year from Tennessee ready to herd sheep and geese throughout the day. Highland cows (shaggy little cows with long horns) will be on display and can be petted, Johnson said.

The area with the animals also will include face painting and an activities tent where people will talk about kilts, Scottish clothing, weapons, history and Irish storytelling.

The main tent will offer "heritage talks" featuring storytelling, Scottish history, traditions, genealogy and more Irish storytelling.

Johnson said the most asked question is what's the difference between a kilt and a skirt.

"The difference is a man wears a kilt with pleats in the back and a skirt has pleats all the way around," he said. "The kilts we're wearing are belted kilts, which are the modern version of the kilt, probably from the late 1800s on and it's easier to put on. The original kilt was a single piece of tartan wool. Ancient Scots wore this as clothing, a bed wrap or raincoat."

Entertainment will include singer Flora Gammon McDonald, the Hoolies of Birmingham, Slip Jig of Huntsville, singer Richard Van Vaulkenburgh, the Scottish Highland Dancers, and Irish Step dancing by a group from Birmingham. No Scottish fest would be complete without bagpipes, so the Heritage Pipe Band of Birmingham will be among bands there with bags and drums.

Hamish Kitchen selling Scottish food like the Scott's Egg (a hardboiled egg wrapped in spicy sausage and deep fried) and a stout Hamish coffee will be among vendors at the festival. Food items also will include fish and chips, hot dogs and hamburgers. Merchandise also will include Scottish books, music, weapons, jewelry and special glassware engraved with Celtic's heraldry.

Pets are welcome to the festival, too. On the afternoon of June 18, pet owners can enter their pets in a parade and awards will be given at the dancer's stage.

"Bring any pet that doesn't try to eat the audience," Johnson said of the parade. Johnson said the public should park at Bob Jones High School for the festival and wait for a bus. A shuttle will arrive every 15 minutes to bring visitors to the festival.

For patron tickets, e-mail the patron's coordinator at patrons@tvss.org.

Festival admission is $6 for adults, $3 for children ages 6-12 and free for children under 6 years old. For more information about the Tennessee Valley Scottish Society or the festival, visit www.tss.org. For more information about the festival, call Phil Johnson at 837-9596.

[beerbecue]

That may be close enough for a day trip....

But, the last link, tss.org, is wrong... it is www.tvss.org

Here is a direct link to the games
http://www.celticalabama.net/NorthAlaGames.html