“Brawny athletes, delicate dancers, noisy bagpipe band parades, rocking Celtic music and a spectacular highland setting makes this colorful celebration of Scottish culture the ‘best’ highland games in America . . .” (or so says the visitnc.com website).
The 55th Annual Grandfather Mountain Highland Games were held this past weekend in MacRae Meadows, at the base of Grandfather. The continuing popularity of the Grandfather Games is perhaps the most visible indication of a long history of Scottish settlement and the continuing influence of Scottish culture in the North Carolina Mountains. In our latest Worth 1,000 Words essay entitled Scottish Heritage at Linville, anthropologist CELESTE RAY explores these traditions and the role of the Morton family in attempting to maintain them. (Did you know, for example, that Hugh Morton’s mother and brother Julian began the development of “Invershiel,” a replica 16th-century Scottish village in Linville?). Read Ray’s essay to find out more.
And finally, for those of you in the Wilmington area, I’d like to offer one last reminder of our Worth 1,000 Words event this coming Monday. Details below; hope to see you there!
Monday, July 19, 5:30 p.m.
New Hanover County Public Library, NorthEast Branch, Wilmington
Information: Paige Owens, powens@nhcgov.com, (910) 798-6327
Speakers:
- Susan Taylor Block: “Wilmington: Faded Glory to Fresh Achievement”
- Rob Christensen: “Hugh Morton Among the Movers and Shakers”
The Sunday edition of StarNewsOnline has a Hugh Morton article:
http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20100717/ARTICLES/100719695&tc=email_newsletter
On, August 19, 1956, the first Highland Games were held at Grandfather Mountain.
http://nchistorytoday.wordpress.com/2014/08/19/highland-games-at-grandfather-mountain-date-back-to-1956/
(This comment was originally posted on August 19, 2014 at approximately 9:40 AM)
The Grandfather Mountain Highland Games lost a dear friend this week with the passing of Mrs. Alvera Veronica Stachowski Morrison Henley Frauenheim.
http://www.greensboro.com/obituaries/morrison-henley-frauenheim-alvera/article_84b98104-2376-5613-b213-117943e10641.html
It’s that time of year at Grandfather Mountain…”Let the games begin…”
http://wncw.org/post/let-games-begin-wnc-welcomes-highlanders-near-and-far
The 64th Annual Grandfather Mountain HIghland Games are underway, July 11, 2019:
https://www.wncw.org/post/64th-annual-grandfather-mountain-highland-games-are-here-july-11-14-sl-inte