The Gathering 2014 – Upcoming Event News

[davidlpope]

One of the main criticisms , prevailing and sadly, enduring ill feeling of the first "Gathering" in 2009 was that the locals felt that the Americans took over the show and the locals were not made to feel welcome in their own country. Not only that, American Clan representatives had American run Clan tents, I feel that there is a legacy of thinking that THAT is not going to happen to us again.

Now the planning of the new "Gathering" is a shambles and the end result is, it appears its not going to happen, who is/was/might/perhaps be in charge , or not, has this justifiable legacy of discontent and distrust to cope with, before all the other matters of suitable areas, logistics, finance, hotels, communications etc., to cope with and it looks like an almost inevitable conclusion has been reached-----its not going to happen.

What is going to happen under local Scots management ,is the usual smaller Clan meetings, gatherings and games and everybody is welcome.

I don't want this to sound Anti American and I really am not trying to be here, but the feeling was in Scotland that the first "gathering" was hijacked by those outwith Scotland and failed financially, its true and on those counts alone it failed, no amount of "outside" organisational skills from afar was it going to happen again. Whatever the rights and wrongs there was and might still be, that is I am afraid, the way it is. Thistledown in a recent post of his described the American Clan associations pretty accurately in many Scots eyes and when the dust has settled over all this shambles, perhaps it might be an idea if the Clan Societies from outwith Scotland think hard about how some of them go about things.

Before those from outwith Scotland leap to the keyboard and fire off a salvo of hurt angst and denials in my direction, there is no doubting, no doubting whatsoever that there are those in Scotland that also bare considerable responsibility for this latest shambles, as well as the last one.

Let us all learn from this and perhaps we might get it right next time, if not too much international damage has been done.

Jock,

Thanks for your post. No offense taken here. In fact, I think that the more transparent all parties are about these things, the better.

Perhaps the native Scots are being more charitable to my own countrymen than I am, but I'm not sure that Americans *want* the real thing. It's been my experience that most "Scottish-Americans" are really looking for the "romantic" rather than the real. This weekend's experience at Stone Mt. reinforced that. The Highland Games that I attended in Scotland (Elgin, Fort William, Stirling) were markedly different from all the American games that I've been to. My guess is that many Americans are looking for the American experience, but in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle, Robert the Bruce statue, Wallace monument, etc., as a way of legitimizing their already strongly-held notions.

I suppose one really needs to think about what the purpose of this (non?)event is. If its a native celebration for Scots, then that leads one down a certain path with certain choices. If its purpose is to entice foreigners to "come back home" to Scotland and spend their money, then give the customer what they want.

Although my wife and I have discussed travelling to Scotland in the next 2-5 years, we'll likely bypass the Gathering, if it happens. I'd rather visit on an off-year when American-fatigue isn't at its high-water mark.

Cordially,

David

[Jock Scot]

The thing is David, the perception(not an altogether erroneous one) is that the Americans who took over the first "Gathering" did give the customers (Americans mainly) what they wanted and failed and then went home leaving a very nasty taste in the mouth of the locals as they cleared up the mess.

I would be delighted to meet up and share a wee dram with anyone, from any nation, should they come by this way.

[creagdhubh]

Boy Tobus, that's too bad. Especially having a life partner of any kind that won't get on a plane or ship. That's not a problem I have, but the poor working stiff thing is. I just now am getting 3 weeks a year vacation, and can actually plan stuff out in the future. It's the first time in my long career I've been able to do that. I used to do a lot of business travel years ago, but haven't been on a plane since well before 9/11, so that will be a new experience. We just have to figure out when's the best time to hit Scotland. 2013 or 2014 or?

Best of luck!

Frank

My wife and I will be in Scotland (Inverness-shire mainly) in 2013. We are looking forward to reuniting with our Macpherson cousins and of course our Chief, Cluny.

Cheers,

[Phil]

If its purpose is to entice foreigners to "come back home" to Scotland and spend their money, then give the customer what they want.

I don't think there is any doubt whatsoever that the whole purpose behind a year of "Homecoming" is to entice tourists to visit the country and spend their money here. A lot of locals, myself included, went along for the entertainment but it was fairly obvious, particularly in the clan village which seemed to be almost exclusively staffed by and for non-Scots, that this was not an event aimed primarily at locals. As such it would have been appropriate to have any shortfall made up by the tourism authorities rather than local trades people having their livelihoods jeopardised as happened after the last one. This may well explain the demise of the 2014 Gathering plan if local businesses have looked to recent experience and declined to have any part in another possible debacle.

[Tuirc]

Just returned from the Stone Mountain games and didn't hear the 2014 gathering mentioned by anybody. Now I wasn't at the council meeting but I talked to several that were and nobody mentioned it as a topic that was discussed.

[davidlpope]

I don't think there is any doubt whatsoever that the whole purpose behind a year of "Homecoming" is to entice tourists to visit the country and spend their money here. A lot of locals, myself included, went along for the entertainment but it was fairly obvious, particularly in the clan village which seemed to be almost exclusively staffed by and for non-Scots, that this was not an event aimed primarily at locals. As such it would have been appropriate to have any shortfall made up by the tourism authorities rather than local trades people having their livelihoods jeopardised as happened after the last one. This may well explain the demise of the 2014 Gathering plan if local businesses have looked to recent experience and declined to have any part in another possible debacle.

Phil,

I regret that the 2009 event was such an economic failure. I don't fault the Scots one bit for being unwilling to risk such a calamity again. I'm unclear as to how much of this can be laid at the feet of Americans, however, as I'm unsure who all the planners were. I was under the impression that the planning was done by Scots, under the leadership of Lord Semple. Perhaps they simply didn't have the experience of running this sort of thing.

Here in the US the games are organized/run by non-profit charitable corporations with directors who have decades of experience. There's no government involvement/bail-outs and the few that aren't well-run/don't break even die off quickly. As a result, the big games (GMHG, SMHG, Pleasanton) are very successful and there is a waiting list of vendors desiring to participate. I suppose my thought is that the risk (or reward) of a similar endeavor in 2014 should be on the private sector, if there is an organization willing to take such a thing on.

[thescot]

Phil,
I regret that the 2009 event was such an economic failure. I don't fault the Scots one bit for being unwilling to risk such a calamity again. I'm unclear as to how much of this can be laid at the feet of Americans, however, as I'm unsure who all the planners were. I was under the impression that the planning was done by Scots, under the leadership of Lord Semple. Perhaps they simply didn't have the experience of running this sort of thing.

Here in the US the games are organized/run by non-profit charitable corporations with directors who have decades of experience. There's no government involvement/bail-outs and the few that aren't well-run/don't break even die off quickly. As a result, the big games (GMHG, SMHG, Pleasanton) are very successful and there is a waiting list of vendors desiring to participate. I suppose my thought is that the risk (or reward) of a similar endeavor in 2014 should be on the private sector, if there is an organization willing to take such a thing on.

I concur with everything that Dave had to say. American games are quite the Big Show! People walking around dressed in strange costumes alongside gentlemen and women dressed in traditional highland attire. They are pretty successful financially.

So the real question is: What are the intended purposes of the Gathering? (If it occurs.) Is it to welcome foreign "clansmen" back "home?" Is it to entice foreign money into the local economies? (This is the one I suspect.) Is it to stage a nationwide, true Scots festival?

All these ideas are worthwhile pursuits, I think, but the planners should be clear on the answers to those questions from the start. And, the planners should be repsonsible for all the execution, mess, cleanup, etc. from the get-go. I can assure you that policemen hired for traffic, toilet cleaners, litter picker-uppers. etc. are all paid for by the event planners around here.

Believe me, when the Olympics were held in Atlanta in 1996, the locals were not on the minds of the planners; we weren't the intended consumers. We were excluded from nearly all of the events, the planning, and the profits. That doesn't bother me. but I knew from the start that it was not planned or executed for my benefit. So be it.

[AcuteEnigma]

Tuirc,

I was at the meeting and the 2014 gathering was definitely talked about. It was the last topic of the meeting. There were many people from the audience who also spoke to the topic either with questions or suggestions.

[Phil]

Phil,

I regret that the 2009 event was such an economic failure. I don't fault the Scots one bit for being unwilling to risk such a calamity again. I'm unclear as to how much of this can be laid at the feet of Americans, however, as I'm unsure who all the planners were. I was under the impression that the planning was done by Scots, under the leadership of Lord Semple. Perhaps they simply didn't have the experience of running this sort of thing.

I don't for one minute lay the blame for the shortfall at anyone's feet, least of all Americans, many of whom supported the Gathering at considerable personal expense. The whole thing was, however, a tourism occasion, designed to appeal to the diaspora generally and should, really, have been underwritten by Scotland's tourist authorities in the last resort. In the event, however, local trades people were left to suffer losses and this is bound to have left a reluctance to become involved in such a venture in future.

[Friday]

I have seen comments on Facebook that the 2014 Gathering of the Clans at Sterling has been canceled. There is another group that is trying to hold a similar event. Things are in the planning atage.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/449573931745196/