Highland games thanksgiving point 2011

Scotland's Highland games are usually one-day events taking place in outdoor spaces across the country. Built around traditional Highland sports such as the caber toss, tug o' war and the hammer throw, a Highland games event also includes Highland dancing and music, and lots of family fun such as food and craft stalls and games.

Many events will also involve livestock events, parades and even best-dressed pet competitions. Some Highland games continue into the night with more music gigs, ceilidhs and discos.

Our Highland games are so popular, that when Scots emigrated to other lands, they took the tradition across the world with them. Highland games have taken place in America since , but also run in other countries such as Canada, Norway, New Zealand and Brazil.

But there's no better way to experience them than in their original country! Though they may have started in Highland Scotland, the games these days stretch right across Scotland from the far north coast of the Highlands, out west to the island of South Uist, east to Aberdeenshire and south to Peebles. The Highland games events season begins in May with the Gourock Highland Games, it peaks in July and August with over 30 events each month, and comes to a close towards the end of September with the Invercharron Highland Games.

Most Highland games events take place at the weekend, on either a Saturday or a Sunday. So, what's it like to spend a day at a Highland games?

Here's what you can see, do and hear, as these events really are a feast of colour and spectacle, one to share with all of your family, friends and those you haven't met yet. There's plenty to do to fill the whole day - many events run from around 10am to 4pm, but you'll easily fill those six hours watching the heavy events and Highland dancing, enjoying fun fairs and stalls, and enjoying delicious Scottish food and drink. Heavy contests, including the hammer throw and weight for height, see competitors putting their muscles to the test, while field events such as the hill race and cycling competition test speed and stamina.

Competitors in the heavy events use a range of techniques to improve their chances of winning. One movement in the weight for height event goes by the somewhat surprising nickname of 'the handbag technique', because the starting position is similar to where one would hold a handbag.

Perhaps the games' most iconic event, the caber toss is rumoured to have stemmed from the need to toss logs over chasms. Nowadays, however, it is judged on style rather than distance: competitors aim to flip a log weighing up to 11 st so that it falls away from them in the '12 o'clock position'. The length it travels is entirely unimportant.

Ever wondered how you would fare in a Highland games competition? Find out with Highland Games Academy Scotland and undertake training with a professional heavies athlete in a stunning Highland setting.

Whether you're a local or a visitor to Scotland, people of all ages are invited to toss the caber, attempt the stone throw and other iconic heavy events. You can even try your hand at curling! Get in touch to design a personally tailored training course which can be extended over multiple days to include driving tours, castle visits and more.

For many, one of the most memorable sights of the Highland games is the massed bands, when hundreds of pipers and drummers from different groups come together to play and march in unison.

Look out for the solo piping competitions, where competitors play in a range of styles, including the Pibroch, which is considered the classical music of the bagpipe. Pibrochs tend to be slow, stately and complex. Dancers give dazzling displays of fancy footwork in Scottish dances, such as the sword dance and the famous Highland fling.

Competing for titles both solo and in groups, their colourful outfits and infectious energy will leave you in high spirits. The Cowal Highland Gathering is renowned for the quality of its Highland dancing, drawing in the best performers from around the globe as they compete in the Scottish and World Championships. Highland games once saw clan members go head-to-head in fierce competition - and you'll still see this enthusiasm when clans muster all their might in a tug o' war.

These days, clan attendance at games is now more of a social and ceremonial affair. Some Highland games are part of a wider clan gathering - a celebratory get-together featuring parades, Scottish music and dancing, feasts, heritage events and much joviality.

The ceremonial role of chieftain is bestowed upon a member of the local community or clan chief, who then leads processions, opens the games and oversees the whole event with aplomb. Did you know that several games have boasted famous celebrity chieftains, including singer Susan Boyle and actors Ewan McGregor and Dougray Scott?

Some believe the roots of the Highland games date as far back as the 11th century, when King Malcolm III called a foot race to the summit of Craig Choinnich, near Braemar, in the hopes of finding the fastest runner in the land to become his personal courier. Many games still include a hill race, although the winner is no longer destined for a life of servitude! The games evolved into a test not only of strength and stamina, but also of creative dance and music skills, to keep kings, queens and clan chiefs entertained.

Highland games as we know them today have been celebrated around Scotland since the s and regularly draw in crowds of thousands.

Discover more about highland games events at visitscotland. Over time the Games grew in number and popularity but suffered a mortal blow with the Act of Proscription in following the crushing of the Jacobite Rebellion.

The act outlawed Scottish dress, customs and gatherings and was in force for almost 40 years. After its repeal the Games started to revive and the fortunes of the national customs were given a tremendous boost with the visit to Scotland in of George IV. Today, the games remain a stirring celebration of Scottish identity and cultural pride which have endured through centuries of political turmoil and upheaval.

Discover more about the history of the games and other fun facts by downloading A Guide to The Highland Games on visitscotland. The Games, of course, are as much about music and dancing as they are about sports. Dancing, piping, fiddling, and playing the clarsach Gaelic harp. There was a competitive element here too. The clan chieftains pitted their pipers against those of other clans and the prestige that came from success was considerable.

The competitive element is a major attraction in its own right but when combined with the spectacle of Highland dancers and pipers and the colour and grandeur of the Scottish scenery which forms their backdrop, Highland Games become a must on any visitor's Scotland itinerary. Discover more about the bagpipes and Scotland's traditional music on visitscotland.

Discover more about traditional music festivals and gigs on visitscotland. Today, in addition to the Games all across Scotland itself, there are more than annual games and gatherings across the US and Canada, with games also in New Zealand and Australia.

Discover the Highland Games taking place in Scotland this year on visitscotland. About Highland Games Highland Games, which take place from Cowal to Tomintoul and all points in between, are a unique mix of the sporting, the cultural and the social.