Celtic Festival and Highland Games

Transcription

1 Scottish American Society Music, Dancing, Athletics and More at the... 13th Annual Treasure Valley Celtic Festival and Highland Games Saturday, September 18th, is going to ROCK!! You don t want to miss out because we have a fantastic day planned for your whole family. Come out to Expo Idaho and join us for the 13th Annual Treasure Valley Celtic Festival and Highland Games. We ve got bands, piper s, dancers, and throwers going all day long. We have some wonderful local musical groups joining us again this year. We are excited to have the Boise Highlanders, City of Trees Pipes and Drums, Celtic Sisters, and An Buille. An Daire Academy of Irish Dance and Thistle and Ghillies Scottish Country Dancers will be holding dance demonstrations throughout the day. We hope you take a break from the song and dance to check out the heavy lifters. On the athletic field there will be amazing feats of strength and agility during the Heavy Athletics Competition. Heavy Athletes will be competing in the following categories: stone-throwing, weight tossing, hammer-throwing, caber turning, and sheaf tossing. On a nearby field you will find fun for the kids. They can begin their training for the Heavy Athletics or just hang out and play. We have events for ages I know that all sounds like a ton of fun - but I m not done! We have two headlining bands decending on Idaho this year. Coming back for the tenth time to our Festival is the Wicked Tinkers on the Main Stage. Additionally, we are excited to welcome back again this year, Swagger on Stage 2. While at the Festival make sure to visit our vendor booths for food and shopping as well as the clan booths for more information about Celtic heritage. We hope to see you all out there. If you don t have your tickets, you can stop by Wee Bit O Scotand and pick some up or just purchase at the gate. NOTICE: Please remember to leave your pets at home.

2 Schedule of Events Time Event Location 8:00 Heavy Athletics Registration Begins Athletics Field 9:00 Vendor/Clan Booths Open Vendor Area 9:00 Heavy Athletics Competition (All Day) Athletics Field 9:00 Children & Youth Events (All Day) Field Events 9:00 Showcasing Animals (Throughout the day) Dog Breed Area 9:30 An Daire Academy of Dance Dance Stage 9:30 City of Trees Pipes & Drums Piper s Field 9:30 An Buille Stage 3 10:15 Celtic Sisters Stage 3 10:15 Thistle & Ghillies Scottish Country Dancers Dance Stage 10:30 Swagger Stage 2 11:00 An Buille Stage 3 11:15 Wicked Tinkers Main Stage 12:00 Opening Ceremonies Ceremony Field 12:30 Boise Highlanders Piper s Field 1:00 Bonny Knees Competition Ceremony Field 1:30 City of Trees Pipes & Drums Piper s Field 12:30 Celtic Sisters Stage 3 12:30 An Daire Academy of Dance Dance Stage 12:45 Swagger Stage 2 1:15 Wicked Tinkers Main Stage 1:45 An Buille Stage 3 2:00 Swagger Stage 2 2:00 Thistle & Ghillies Scottish Country Dancers Dance Stage 2:30 An Daire Academy of Dance Dance Stage 2:45 Boise Highlanders Piper s Field 3:00 Wicked Tinkers Main Stage 3:00 Celtic Sisters Stage 3 3:30 Thistle & Ghillies Scottish Country Dancers Dance Stage 4:30 Swagger Stage 2 5:00 Closing Ceremony Ceremony Field There will be people from the Idaho Falconers Association with a couple falcons out for people to see. They will just be wandering with the birds and you can stop and chat at will. Falconry has been very popular in the British Isles from medieval times to present and there are locations you can go over in Scotland and take the birds out to hunt game while on vacation. Back in the medieval times different types of birds were used for different statuses the royalty flying one type a bird and the lower class others. It was a mainstay in getting game for the tables since there were no guns and game (mainly birds and small animals like rabbit) was difficult to catch.

3 Idaho Tartan Day Society by Tim Cayler We are a newly formed non-profit organization, whose purpose is to celebrate Tartan Day in Idaho, and to carry the history and the heritage of Scots in Idaho, state-wide. Tartan Day in Idaho was established by an act of our State legislature in 2006, headed up by Senator Joyce Broadsword, (Clan Thompson), from District 2 near Sandpoint. We join a growing number of states and Canadian Provinces where Tartan Day organizations already exist. Tartan Day in North America was first conceived in the Canadian Province of Nova Scotia, in response to a proposal from the Federation of Scottish Clans. In 1991, an act of the Ontario Provincial legislature, established April 6th as Tartan Day; it being in commemoration of the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath in Two acts of our U.S. Congress; the Senate in 1998 and House in 2005, established National Tartan Day in the United States. Look for our tent at the Boise Games on the 18th. Please check out our website at: www. idahotartanday.org Preserving Our Past......For Our Future October 8 7:00-9:00 pm Shangri-La Tea Room and Cafe 1800 W. Overland Rd., Boise For more information you can contact Susan Nelson at: chatnoir1957@msn.com The Scottish American Society of the Treasure Valley is now on Facebook. Check us out and become a fan. We now have 84 fans!! This a great way to share photos and stories with others. Meeting and event information will be posted so you can keep up with what is happening in the Celtic community. You can post your own events and open up important or even frivolous discussions. We hope you all will participate! Please do not bring your pets to the Treasure Valley Celtic Festival and Highland Games. Thank you. Scottish American Society New Membership/Renewal Form Music, Highland Games and More! Join us and celebrate Scottish and Celtic heritage. Your support and participation are appreciated. (check 1) Treasure Valley Chapter Boise State University Chapter Canyon County Chapter Elmore County Chapter (check 1) New Member or Renewing Member Date: Last Name: First Name: Spouse: Children: Clan Affiliation (optional): Address: City: State: Zip Code: Home Phone: Other Phone: address: Select membership type (check one) Individual - $20/year Family - $30/year Student - $10/year Note: Annual renewal date is July 1. All memberships January to July are at 1/2 rate. I am interested in helping with: Membership Graphic Arts Sponsorship Highland Games Concerts Mail/Phone Contact Media Ceilidhs Other Please return this form with payment to: Pam Rogers, SAS Treasurer 1115 Rolling Hills Drive Meridian, Idaho 83642

4 Heaven in the Hebrides & Highlands Is there a better way to spend the tourist high season than the natural high from H3? Boise is grand but the call from Alba was too much to resist especially during our normally hot summer. So with bags packed (less than 50 lbs each)and fees ($25/bag plus airfare) paid we departed for Glasgow to meet friends from Georgia to pursue ferry schedules, sea breezes, and the best single malts from the islands and Highlands. July and Scotland was ours. Upon landing we cleared Scottish customs with a resounding we re here to sample the goods. Even tho his humor was restrained to admit us after our lame attempt at humor of what time do they fire the one o clock cannon, he did wish us good luck. Off to see Mother Hertz and get the largest vehicle possible to haul four people, luggage, and room for subsequent acquisitions on our odyssey. A large vehicle in Scotland equated to our first exposure to the frugal and petite. The ever polite clerk said our car was the largest available. Yeah for midgets. So in went four people and a month s worth of luggage to get to Androssan and the last ferry to Arran. We looked like clowns from the circus. We had no idea of route or driving time and we had 90 minutes to anchors aweigh. So with a roar out of the lot, minor adjustment to the correct wrong side of the road, and a big sigh of relief they didn t switch the gas, clutch and brake pedals we made it to Androssan with 8 minutes to spare. With Hopscotch tickets in hand we gained boarding and headed for the bar. A wee dram and a bobbing ship made for a smoother crossing to Brodick. Arran is a quiet isle that still follows the belief that midgees can be friendly if you re prepared, which we weren t. These tiny, buzzing, welcoming critters swarm to meet you. It s as if the call goes out tourists here. Wham, we re swatting, cussing, and seeking asylum. Ask John about these buggers when you have a chance. Anyway we made it to the Lagg Hotel and spent the next two days among the standing stones, cairns, beaches,and the new and only Arran island distillery in Lochranza: State of the art and smoothly run by folks of the Campbell leaning. We dram d all offerings and said it was the best we tasted. Not willing to say it was the first we ve had with more to come we did enjoy Campbell hospitality and wished them good fortune as they gained wider acceptance in the tough family of single malts. We bought some Arran Gold to bring back to Idaho. Next on our island hopping adventure would be Islay, home to the best peat, barley, water and malt and the Scotch we love. The Celtic sea gods were waiting for us. Our departure to Islay was a typical Scottish summer day: rainy, windy, sea swells of three to five feet, and temps our ski resorts find delightful. We drive to Lochranza again to board our next hopscotch ferry. A small, flat bottom cork to cross to Kintyre. Well lo and behold McSkipper gets on the bull horn and says the sea is too rough for his yacht and we re going to Tarbert, a longer sailing but sea swells will be smaller. The sea gods evidently didn t hear McSkipper s message and the swells had us all over the place resembling bobbing for apples games. Our 30 minute sailing took an hour and a half. Butch who was driving the circus car this day was as green as the Paps on Jura. All WC s were occupied and some brave souls were aft checking the railings for integrity. No one rode it out in their car too risky. In Tarbert and after the ground kissing ceremony for continued long life we headed for the next ferry to get us to Islay. Amen, this next ferry was a real deep water ferry with well stocked bar. So it was fish n chips and stout to settle all systems. Heaven was approaching. Islay is divine. We landed in Port Askaig and drove south to our B&B for the next five days: Loch Gorm House. Fiona welcomed us with tea and pastries and made us feel like family. She would in the coming week make our reservations as necessary and make suggestions as to what we could do. We asked was it true there were only 8 distilleries on Islay? Yes, so two a day would get to them and leave time for exploring its coast and Jura. If you love terrific Scotch, a strong peaty aroma and taste, Islay is heaven. All Scotch starts with barley, water and malt. After that is up to the master distiller as to how the taste will be after aging. On Islay with the peat fires drying the barley and water running over the peat that aroma permeates the air and the Scotch. Prior to leaving Idaho we joined the Classic Malt club and became Friends of Laphroaig (FoL). That allowed free access to several distilleries for tours and tasting. Otherwise it s about 10 pounds for entry. At Laphroaig we planted our flags and collected our rent on our property for being a FoL. We made it to all 8 distilleries: Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Lagavulin, Bo more, Caol ila, Kilchoman, Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain. Port Ellen is now closed. What s really neat is that most of Islay still does the floor malting. True traditional Scotch is Islay. A must see and experience. The people of Islay were just so friendly. They tried to teach us Gaelic (say Garlic without the R), taught us how to spell by using letters in words that are not pronounced, and letting us join the Islay Pipe Band for practice. Our role was to applaud on cue. Also, all the jokes about Scottish food and the like are not true. The best seafood from salmon to scallops to mussels to even fish n chips were great. We had seafood all but two days of the trip. Throw in the isle of Jura with its Paps and own distillery caps off a fun week on the Inner Hebrides. There were even sun breaks for our week s stay. One paid announcement here is our endorsement of Scottish B&B s at the 4 and 5 start level. If you swing their tariff for lodging you can not go wrong on their approach to a night s stay. All were super accommodating, friendly, super clean, excellent breakfasts. You could skip lunch but then why? For a month of travel and an every evening s welcome the B&B s can t be beat. Remember, if you can t see Ben Nevis it s raining. If you can see Ben Nevis it ll rain soon. Please join us in the next newsletter as we put to sea again and head north through Oban, Mull, Iona, Skye, and the Highlands. We ll seek Stewart pipers, Rob Roy, castles, Lochs, Nessie, Scottish Harley Owners Group, and my wife losing a tooth in Luss. Of course more distilleries because there are so many and so little time on the planet. See you at the Treasure Valley Highland Games on 18 September. Slainte Doug, Debbie, Butch and Becky

5 by Nina Ray Vandye Forrester, Assistant Clan Coordinator, spoke to Nina Ray s (Assistant, Media Advertising) International Marketing class at BSU on 30 August. Nina s students will help out at the Games gate and will ask attendees where they heard about the Games so that modifications in future advertising and promotion can be made. Vandye was in the class to help generate interest in choosing the Games as a term project. He also helped all students (not just those wanting to help out at the Games as a project) learn more about the location of Scotland (i.e., NOT in England), the difference between the Highlands and Lowlands, what goes on at Highland Games, what clans are (with an emphasis on the Clan Forrester, of course) and what being a clan member means to him. Nina was impressed that Vandye graciously mentioned Nina s Clan MacRae in addition to touting his Clan Forrester and was happy to see Vandye appear in his kilt and explain proper dress attire to the class. The class had been studying recent developments in the U.S.- Scotland conflict over the release of the A Classroom Visit Lockerbie bomber, so discussion included this topic as well. Vandye s granddaughter, Josie, is a sophomore at BSU and she came to hear Granddad speak. Earlier this summer, Nina was interviewed by the BBC Scotland radio show Digging Up Your Roots while at the Ulster-American Heritage Symposium at Western Carolina University (two Scottish colleagues from the University of Strathclyde were there, even though the focus of the conference was on Ulster). She was one of two conference delegates chosen to be interviewed for an episode that will air in January or February of Ray discussed her advice to Scotland tourism officials for the country s next national homecoming celebration. She and another marketing colleague in the Department of Marketing and Finance have done joint research on legacy tourism (ancestral tourism). Nina has just been informed that an article of hers will appear in the After the Homecoming issue of the Journal of Irish and Scottish Studies to be Vandye Forrester and Nina Ray at her International Marketing class at Boise State University. published next year by the University of Aberdeen. Ingredients: 1 cup barley 1 lb. potatoes 3 carrots 1/4 cabbage, chopped 3 onions 3 pints. water or stock 2 stalks of celery salt and pepper 2 small turnips Directions: Dice carrots, onions, celery, turnips, and potatoes. Roughly chop cabbage. Place all vegetables and barley in a large saucepan with water and seasoning and boil steadily for 1 1/2 hours. Serves 6 Recipe found at:

6 It s time again to vote for officers. What we need from you now is nominations, and we want lots of names to choose from on our ballot. Don t get me wrong, I understand how it can make the voting process much easier when there is only one name on the ballot. But, it is in fact always nice to have a choice. I like choice. The Scottish American Society officers are involved with the planning of the Treasure Valley Celtic Festival and Highland Games. Their involvement is critical to the success of the event. We need creative, intelligent, and goofy people who are willing and ready to lead this organization. Once you accept your nomination and are elected you serve a two year term. We will be taking nominations through September 25 th. If you are interested in being a part of the Scottish American Society and you are someone full of ideas and dedication, then we want you - just let me know and I ll nominate you! If you know someone who fits the above description, then we want them. Send nominations to Sherilyn Paris at sherilyn. paris@boiseschools.org or sas@idahoscots.org.. You can also nominate someone via our Facebook page. We will vote at the wrap up meeting. The date of which will be announced before the Festival. Warning to you all: Only paid current members can vote in the election. So get your dues in to Pam Rogers as soon as possible so that you are registered to vote in this election! Pam Rogers, Treasurer 1115 Rolling Hills Drive Meridian, Idaho STANDARD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT NO. 705 For more information about the Scottish American Society, please visit our website at idahoscots.org or check us out on Facebook.