First Annual Logan Scottish Festival

This past weekend Kennon and I attended the first ever Scottish Festival held in Logan, Utah. For years we've jaunted down to enjoy the Scottish Festival held in Payson, Utah and it has become an important tradition in our family. We are of Scottish descent (My main clan line is Napier, but we're also tied into the McDonald, Brown, Robertson, Young, Gibson, & Campbell clans or septs as well. My husband belongs to the Stewart clan.) so we revel in this celebration of our heritage.

On Saturday (August 29th) a Celtic Festival was held in nearby Logan and we had to check it out. We were very impressed with this first time effort. It was held at the American West Heritage Center located just south of Logan. There was a $7.00 cover charge per person but it was well worth the cost.

We met up with my mother and my sister, Trudi, who had driven up from Clinton, Utah to see this event.

We enjoyed watching the highland dancers.

And this young lady, Kelsey Crane, turned out to be Kennon's distant cousin. She has won several awards and is a nationally acclaimed dancer.
There were other performers, varying musicians that played a variety of Celtic music.

Then it was time for the mass bands and the gathering of the clans. The Scottish and American Flags were marched in, followed by the pipe bands which played magnificently.

After their performance, the clans proudly marched around the arena, displaying authentic clan garb and flags.

A small cannon was used to open this ceremony. Following the gathering of the clans, this same cannon was used to launch candy into the air for the children. If you look closely at this picture (click on it and it will become a lot larger) you can see the candy that was shot up into the air.

There were fun activities all day long. The highland games were a popular attraction. My mother, sister, and I enjoyed watching the men in kilts as they gallantly took part in these traditional festivities. ;)
We witnessed the traditional caber toss, which is a long, tapered pine that is tossed into the air.

We also watched the Scottish Hammer Throw, which was most impressive.
And there was also the traditional weight throw, which is thrown using one hand. As you have probably guessed the winner throws the heaviest weight the greatest distance. Most of the highland games are a test of strength and endurance.
We also watched an entertaining sword fight.


And there were numerous fun booths to savor. Some sold Celtic wares. My mother and I each bought beautiful celtic rings. Hers was made up of the traditional Celtic knots. Mine contains a beautiful moonstone, sided by the Celtic Trinity Knot. Trudi purchased a beautiful Celtic pin made up of thistle root. It has been processed to resemble polished rock. Some of you may know that the thistle is an important symbol of Scotland.

There were other fun booths manned by the differing clans. These booths contained a lot of information about their respective clans. This is a great way to gather important history about Scottish ancestors.

At the Logan Celtic Festival, they also offered brief historical presentations in the Opera House, which is part of the American West Center. We thoroughly enjoyed the Mountain Man presentation that was taking place when we wandered over to see the Opera House.

There were also delicious food booths featured at this year's festival. We selected the cuisine offered by the Holy Grille. The smoked meat and garlic roasted pita bread were wonderful, and well worth the wait. (By then there was a long line of hungry customers.)

All in all, this was a fun way to spend most of Saturday. We later jaunted down to Brigham City to hang out with Doran and Jody Shelley. Doran ran in the marathon race that was held in Logan the same day as the Celtic Festival. Since we weren't able to link up while we were all in Logan, we met them for peach milkshakes in Brigham City early Saturday evening. A good time was had by all. And I can guarantee that our clan will be making the Logan Celtic Festival a family tradition in years to come.