Athena Caledonian Games 2012

[Blupiper]

Yesterday (Saturday, July 14th) was the Athena Caledonian Games in Athena, Oregon. It's a smaller games, but still plenty to see and do. A parade, piping, dancing, heavy athletics and sheepdog trials. First off, there was the parade. Athena is near Pendleton, home of the world famous Pendleton Roundup, and there were some rodeo princesses:

I was entered in three piping events and with a lot of luck and blessings (and practice), I took home three medals! Here's me playing:

And celebrating with another winning piper in the beer garden (it's the best place to celebrate):

Sheepdogs penning the sheep:

and enjoying the day when the work is done (I think this should be captioned 'my sheepdog is smarter than your honor student):

Both sexes represent in the heavy athletics: putting the stone, weight for distance and the sheaf toss:



These fellows are re-enactors who recreate the 42nd RHR Black Watch from the French and Indian (Seven Years) War period. Smart looking:

Of course there was music other than the pipes:

At the end of the day, it was time to go.


JMB

[Scout]

Great pics. I'm looking forward to the Maine games next month and the New Hampshire games in September. They'll be my first.

[English Bloke]

Crackin' set of pictures Blupiper. Looks like a great day out. Congratulations on the medal haul, good score there.

[freddie]

Great set of pictures Blupiper and congrats on your medals. Looked like a great event. I love the Black Watch uniforms.

[cessna152towser]

Super pics, looks lkke there was plenty of activity despite your desciption as a smaller games.
Well done on the piping medals.

[Blupiper]

Thanks, everyone, for the kind words. I want to mention the young lady in the last photo of the musicians. By all means, check her out on iTunes, eMusic or CD Baby. Here name is Anna Okana Burgess and her disk is called Spring in Brassica. After I saw her at the games, I downloaded the disk off eMusic and have been very impressed with her playing. Accompanied by her Dad on guitar,she is excellent for a young lady not far out of high school. I would compare her style to Alasdair Fraser, which is praise indeed.

JMB

[OC Richard]

Thanks for posting those!

Wow those bring back memories... of around 1980, when I attended the piping school at Coeur d'Alene (the North Idaho College School of Bagpiping) and in the middle of the two-week school we all packed into whatever few cars were available and made the long drive, fully kilted, to Athena Oregon for the Games.

I recall a small park in the middle of wheat fields, with fantastic BBQ pulled-pork sandwiches and best of all a beer truck with a spigot in the side, the beer being free to anyone in a kilt.

I competed solo in the morning. We piping school people threw together an ad-hoc pipe band, the drum section made up of pipers playing borrowed drums, and easily won first place. (At this time it was a piping-only school.)

There was a great Open level solo piping competition due to the presence of all the instructors from the school. Our head instructor, Gold Medallist Pipe Major Evan MacRae (ex-Cameron Highlanders), was the judge. I asked him, since he had travelled all over the world in the Army, where the world's best food was. "Right here!" he said, as he ate a pulled pork sandwich.

Due to the free beer we were hammered by day's end.