Highland Games are the quintessential Scottish gathering. But there’s no need to be a Scot to toss a caber at Maine’s original Highland Games and Scottish Festival at Topsham Fairgrounds Aug. 17 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Pros will be tossing sticks (cabers, or logs trimmed to a specific length and weight), throwing stones (much like a shot put) and tossing sheafs (stuffed and weighted burlap sacks thrown with pitchforks). But regular folks—men, women and children—are welcome to try these traditional “heavy” events that are the focal point of Highland Games around the world.
“It’s a macho thing,” laughed Kelly Logan Barclay, who coordinates the 100 some odd volunteers running Maine’s 41st annual Games. “Really, this is about keeping the Scottish culture alive through the generations.”
The nonprofit St. Andrew’s Society of Maine raises funds through the Festival to provide scholarships for bagpipers, harpists, violinist and Scottish dancers—“anything that has to do with Scottish culture,” Barclay said.
The Festival surrounding the games is a mix of traditional Scottish foods such as haggis and hand pies and regular festival fair, like burgers and dogs, accompanied by a whole lot of bagpiping and folks wearing woolens at a warm time of year.
“It’s amazing how many people come in all dressed up their kilts,” Barclay said. “We’re Scottish and we’re hardy.”
The festival draws as many as 9,000 people in good weather, many traveling from other New England states and Eastern Canada and camping at Topsham Fairgrounds or Thomas Point Beach & Campground. Many come to play—and compete—in pipe and drums, Scottish dancing, and, of course, athletics.
Others are interested in history, perhaps tracing their genealogy back to a specific clan and visiting their clan booth or ordering a kilt in their clan tartan. Reenactors from two groups—the Historic Highlanders and the 74th Highland Regiment, bring different periods of Scotch history to life.
Admission is $15 in advance until two weeks before the festival (so that tickets can be mailed), otherwise $20 at the gate and just $5 for kids 12 and under.
“That’s how much we want those kids to attend,” Barclay said. “The price hasn’t gone up in years.”
A smaller and often-overlooked aspect of the Maine Highland Games is the Friday night Gathering of the Clan Ceilidh, or social gathering, with a bonfire, musicians and storytellers (Aug. 16. at 6:30 p.m.; free but donations accepted).
“If you get there before it’s gone, there’s stew cooked over an open fire, which is so good,” Barclay said. “One of our older guys, Bill Keen, got creative one year and built a castle we could burn. Now, every other year or so we burn a castle.”
For more information: www.mainehighlandgames.org
Picks of the Week
Concert with Gone West featuring Colbie Caillat. 7:30-9:30 p.m., July 13. L.L.Bean Discovery Park, 95 Main St., Freeport. Free admission.
Let this be the summer you take advantage of L.L. Bean’s summer concert series of too-good-to-be-free shows. Set out your lawn blanket and enjoy Nashville group Gone West featuring two-time Grammy winner Colbie Caillat in four-part harmony with multi-platinum singer-songwriter Jason Reeves, Hawaii Music Award winner Justin Kawika Young and Academy of Country Music-nominated artist Nelly Joy.
“Hello Dolly,” Maine State Museum Theater. July 17-Aug. 3.
The blockbuster Broadway hit “Hello Dolly!” follows the romantic and comic exploits of Dolly Gallagher Levi (a strong-willed matchmaker), as she travels to New York to find a match for the miserly “well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire” Horace Vandergelder. www.msmt.org
Band Camp X. July 26-28, Thomas Point Beach & Campground (29 Meadow Road), Brunswick.
For music lovers who dig visual and performing arts and camping seaside with other creative types, Band Camp is three days and two nights of laid-back bliss. Year 10 of Band Camp brings funk, rock, jam, reggae, bluegrass, folk and blues from the likes of featuring Gruvenwood (the band that started the festival), Phish tribute band Pardon Me Doug, Consider the Source, Bandwich, Astral Pines, Invite the Wild, Roots Rhythm Duo and Puddn’ Head. Thomas Point Beach Campground, just off Route 24, has a clean sandy tidal beach overlooking Thomas Bay and woodsy oceanside campsites. Admission options include day passes or full festival, with tent camping available. www.bandcampfest.com
Maine Lobster Festival. July 31-Aug. 4. Rockland Harbor Park, Rockland.
Steamed lobsters are the star of this festival, which includes The Great International Lobster Crate Race, Maine Sea Goddess Coronation, Stines and Vines (21+), a parade, seafood cooking contests, road races, Maine craftsmen and artists, musical entertainment, carnival rides and pirate-themed entertainment (dress like a pirate Thursday to get free admission). General admission is $8 (ages 12 and up), $2 for kids ages 6-11. Opening day admission (Wednesday) is $1, free for military personnel. www.mainelobsterfestival.com
Hook, Line & Dinner. 4:30-10 p.m., Aug. 3. Cook’s Lobster and Ale House (68 Garrison Cove Road), Bailey Island.
Nobody puts on a lobster bake like the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association. Party like a lobsterman under a tent on beautiful Bailey Island with a concert by Sons of Quint, Maine beers and, of course, full shore dinners. Tickets start at $75 at this fundraiser devoted to Maine’s fisheries and fishing communities. www.mainecoastfisherman.org
Topsham Fair. Aug. 6-11. Topsham Fairgrounds (32 Community Way), Topsham.
Topsham Fair celebrates Maine’s thriving agriculture with livestock exhibitions, 4H events, wagon rides, harness racing, truck and tractor pulls, demolition derbies, fair food, music and a full midway. Admission ($12) includes rides. Senior citizen admission is $3 on Tuesday. www.topshamfair.net
“Where Have All the Hippies Gone?” Aug. 20-Sept. 14. Carousel Music Theater, 196 Townsend Ave., Boothbay Harbor.
What happens when a hippie wakes up in the 1560s? Carousel Music Theater goes on a psychedelic adventure with an original 1960s revue. Three-course dinner and show ($49.95) or dessert and show ($30). www.caroselmusictheater.org
Salmon & Seafood Festival. Aug. 31-Sept. 1. Throughout Eastport.
Celebrate the Atlantic salmon raised in the cold waters of Passamaquoddy Bay, harvested and prepared by the stalwart folks who live in the Eastport area. The festival features local salmon, lobster and oysters, beer, wine, rum and a farmer’s market, as well as music, arts, crafts and gifts. http://eastportchamber.net/eastportsalmonfest/
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