Nor Cal Highland Games Cancelled

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Well what about if we could first get our local sports networks to cover them on the local news--more than just a story on a festival, but actually discuss the athletic events. It'd be hard but getting one of the ESPN networks to cover a big games might bring interest... even if it is only on a premium channel in the middle of the night--it would get more coverage! People love scenes in shows when there is highland athletics... I remember an old episode of Home Improvement with Tim Allen participating in Highland Games. I mean, of course this is all a long-shot and what we really need is a big blockbuster like "Braveheart" to get people interested in things Scottish. Do we have any screen writers on the list?

I think we have to understand that Highland Athletics really is a minority sport, and receives less television coverage in the UK than snooker, or darts, or lawn bowling. That being the case, I don't see television executives in North America falling all over themselves to snap up the broadcast rights to Highland Athletics any time soon.

[Farlander]

Add to this list, last year the "Loch Lomond Highland Games" in Ben Lomond being canceled, and it is not a pretty picture. Gone are the days of being able to go to a Scottish/Celtic event once or twice a month.

[Galician]

You can add to the list the Celebration of Celts, which had been held near Albany, N.Y. The really bad weather which hit during that time in 2008, ensured that it would not be held last year. It seems to be gone forever.

[Chainsaw02]

As a past Executive Director of highland games and scottish festivals I have seen the hardships of this endever. The sponsorships, both private and corporate have all but dried up. Volenteers are even harder to locate. A games can only cut costs so far and still put on a games that will draw the general public to your venue. We have put on a quaility event with world record-breaking athletes, excellant entertainment, childrens games, grade two and three pipe bands, highland dance competition, animals, and more and still managed to loose large amounts of money.

As a non-profit scottish cultural society we cannot afford to continue to do this. The good news is that games such as Grandfather Mountain Highland Games in NC and Stone Mountain Highland Games in AL still seem to be able to continue to put on a quality show with good attendence. As things usually do, I believe the cycle will turn around and the smaller local games will return. If not remember the good times and enjoy what we have.

Larry Dirr, FSA Scot

[Smayniac]

Monterey is probably August 7 & 8, the dates above are midweek. Their website still lists 2009 dates.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

While part of the decline may be do to the general state of the economy, I think that another, oft overlooked, factor is that some games have frankly "lost their way" sometime before they fell off the precipice.

Originally these were Highland Games, not some sort of pan-Celtic, quasi-RennFaire, SCA event in kilts. As games placed more emphasis on the fringe, they became less focused and, in my opinion, damaged their gate.

Visitors to the games attend to share or discover Scottish Heritage, and anything that takes away from that experience runs the risk of discouraging some visitors from returning next year. I think the organizers of games have to realize this, or risk financial ruin.

[Alan H]

While part of the decline may be do to the general state of the economy, I think that another, oft overlooked, factor is that some games have frankly "lost their way" sometime before they fell off the precipice.

Originally these were Highland Games, not some sort of pan-Celtic, quasi-RennFaire, SCA event in kilts. As games placed more emphasis on the fringe, they became less focused and, in my opinion, damaged their gate.

Visitors to the games attend to share or discover Scottish Heritage, and anything that takes away from that experience runs the risk of discouraging some visitors from returning next year. I think the organizers of games have to realize this, or risk financial ruin.

Strangely enough, the Campbell Highland Games is toast, and two years of steady fundraising through whisky tastings, concerts and so on hasn't covered the shortfall.....

....but the Santa Cruz Scottish Renaissance Festival has expanded from one day to two, on the same date that the Campbell Games used to occupy and only about forty miles away.

Highland Games are suffering, but the local professionally-run Renaissance Faire runs to overflow crowds for six-seven weeks every summer hereabouts. They had to move a couple of years ago because the previous venue couldn't handle the throngs. They make so much money at Faire that they actually hire professional actors, bands and so on to staff much of the place. There are literally hundreds of employees....not volunteers, EMPLOYEES....at the Northern California Renaissance Faire.

Meanwhile, the Games which celebrate Scottish Culture with Bands, Dancers, Athletics and Clans, take a huge hit. The Campbell Games have been in decline for 2-3 years and that has never been a Games with a lot of those useless, clueless, inaccurate Ren Faire type re-enactors that you so obviously detest. Livermore has had it's share of re-enactors, but the bands, dancers, athletics and vendors have always been much more prominent. In fact, for square footage of space used up, the Athletics has always been the biggest thing going at Livermore. Yet the Livermore Games has been in decline for two years as well, and last yearon Sunday when I threw on the field in 105 degree heat, it was really sad to see the vendors. Many of them didn't even make back their participation/booth rent.

At the Santa Cruz Games last October, I talked to two or three of the vendors, including Mrs. Farlanders friend. She didn't make back her fee for renting the space, and one other, much larger vendor was barely going to break even. And yet at that Games, there was only one re-enactment Guild present and they were shoved off in a corner. It was all about the Clans.... that's all they had room for. Our throwing area was tiny, and the main music stage was way down by the Clan glen. The smaller music stage was up by us throwers, and they didn't have much audience all day long.

Shockingly, the Guilds are a significant draw for the Dunsmuir Games. The past two years, a survey has been put around on the grounds of the Games. Amazing, but at least at this Games, the re-enactor camps scored near the top of what the people attending enjoyed most. Clan attendance at Dunsmuir is always quite small.

So much for your theory.

[Alan H]

The two biggest Nor Cal Games....Woodland and Pleasanton, are still "on" and I'm sure they will not fold any time soon. They will certainly gather crowds in the tens of thousands.

Funny, but both of them have living history areas with those icky "re-enactors in kilts".

Tartan Day in Ardenwood is "on", and at most a dozen clans attend, if that. It's thick with those horrible Pan-Celtic types and re-enactors in kilts, putting on fake swordplay. No pipe bands come out, not ONE. Last year there were no dance groups, I hear that this year there might be a school or two. The local Athletic group is busy, 500 miles south in Bakersfield, and so the only Athletics are what I bring along. The number of vendors is about a dozen. Much of the music is provided by volunteer groups, or the local harpers hall. Only two "name bands" make it to Tartan Day.

And yet Tartan Day at Ardenwood is still a going concern. Son of a gun. Of course, this is California...you know, the land of the uneducated and generally unwashed masses who don't know any better.

[Semiomniscient]

The two biggest Nor Cal Games....Woodland and Pleasanton, are still "on" and I'm sure they will not fold any time soon. They will certainly gather crowds in the tens of thousands.

Funny, but both of them have living history areas with those icky "re-enactors in kilts".

Tartan Day in Ardenwood is "on", and at most a dozen clans attend, if that. It's thick with those horrible Pan-Celtic types and re-enactors in kilts, putting on fake swordplay. No pipe bands come out, not ONE. Last year there were no dance groups, I hear that this year there might be a school or two. The local Athletic group is busy, 500 miles south in Bakersfield, and so the only Athletics are what I bring along. The number of vendors is about a dozen. Much of the music is provided by volunteer groups, or the local harpers hall. Only two "name bands" make it to Tartan Day.

And yet Tartan Day at Ardenwood is still a going concern. Son of a gun. Of course, this is California...you know, the land of the uneducated and generally unwashed masses who don't know any better.

You can have all of that you want and it can be successful. But obviously, the type of "muddying the waters" of having the SCA and other non-Scottish, Ren Faire type entertainment leads to a degeneration of the games into something non-Scottish. You can't simply "slap tartan on it" and poof! it's Scottish! Most Scottish societies have the objective and mission to preserve their culture and heritage. Creating false ideas about what is "Scottish" is counter to that goal. I think bringing it back to its roots is admirable and true to the goal of Scottish societies. You needn't be Scottish to be interested in attending games. But you might ought to be actually interested in the games themselves or something that is being offered. Maybe trying to make the Games into festivals is the whole problem. Perhaps there should be more focus on the GAMES over all the other stuff that goes on. Perhaps the Clan Societies and Scottish Societies should seek to work out some historical reinactment, weapons demonstrations, etc. instead of relying on others to do so in a way that is counter to their mission. Part of the problem is not just the lack of interest of the public, it's the lack of willingness to participate in the Scottish Societies that "sponsor" the events. It all falls on so few and those active few are getting older and older and the younger ones joining up are fewer still.

[Smayniac]

I've said before, I'm not even of Scottish extraction. I went to my first games because I had friends who were competing, I found that Scooby and I enjoyed the athletics as much as anything else, although everything is a shopportunity for him.

That first year we went to two games, last year we went to two games again, although one was a different one(I'll miss Dunsmuir). Monterey is on my list because I have friends there and the weather is agreeable. I'll probably make the trek to Woodland this April and to Tartan Days at Ardenwood as well. Pleasanton is not a must go for me, I'll go if nothing else comes up, although I hear the weather was nicer last year than usual.

Alot of it for me is seeing my friends and being able to enjoy the competition.

Bob