HOME Campus Life Maverick Stadium to host Scottish festival, games this weekend

Maverick Stadium to host Scottish festival, games this weekend

Written by Ashley Randall

Wednesday, 01 June 2005 11:00 PM

The 19th annual event will feature activities such as whiskey tasting and dancing. Thousands of Scottish enthusiasts will exchange their jeans for kilts this weekend for the 19th annual Texas Scottish Festival and Highland Games. The weekend-long festival, one of the largest Scottish gatherings in the U.S., begins at 5 p.m. Friday at Maverick Stadium. The festival is known for its activities including Scottish country dancing, a Scotch-whisky tasting and an all-Scottish-breed dog show. The festival has a strong emphasis on music and will feature Celtic folk/pop groups like Jiggernaut and Scottish folk singer Brian McNeil. These music groups play instruments ranging from electric guitars and drums to bagpipes and accordions. “It’s a great time to get out — gets pretty wicked in the mosh pit,” said Jiggernaut singer Wolf Loesher, who got involved with the festival in 1992. Loesher said the group has been a regular act at the festival for the past four years. He said special guest Brian McNeil has had an effect on musicians like himself. “He’s been playing this music since college,” Loesher said. “He’s been a tremendous influence on other musicians.” Besides live bands, there will also be bagpipe contests and Scottish dance competitions. Festival founder Ray McDonald said the festival will also feature a new musical event, “Lassies Galore,” which will bring together all female singers from the bands for a performance. He said that because the bands usually only have one female member, it will be an interesting combination. “There’s no telling what’s going to happen,” he said. Traditional Scottish foods like haggis, a mixture of lamb heart, beef, oatmeal and onion, fish and chips, meat pies and an assortment of Scottish ales will be available in tents. Records, jewelry, kilts and Celtic crafts will also be sold. Scottish and British enthusiasts will have genuine tartan wear on display, and there will be a 9,000-square-foot pub tent. The sporting events include a kilted golf tournament and traditional hammer and sheaf tosses, along with children’s games and activities. McDonald said the festival, which has been at UTA since 1990, offers a glimpse into another culture. Though he said event planners try to keep the theme strictly around the Scottish culture, he emphasized that the festival is for everyone. “We want non-Scottish people so you can discover how good it is to be Scottish,” he said. Views: 73 | E-mail   Be first to comment this article Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition v.1.4.6 AkoComment © Copyright 2004 by Arthur Konze - www.mamboportal.com All right reserved

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