2012 Kentucky Scottish Weekend

[creagdhubh]

Greetings,

The 30th anniversary of the Kentucky Scottish Weekend will be celebrated on Saturday, May 12 at General Butler State Resort Park in Carrollton, Kentucky. This year, the event will be dedicated to renown musician and native-Scot, Alex Beaton - see below for further information. For all the details, please check out the link to their official website below as well. It appears organisers of the event have successfully obtained a liquor licence and will be serving beer and wine (Mothergrove and a proper drink, does it get any better? Ha-ha!).

Stephanie and I attended the event last year and had the pleasure of meeting several 'Xmarkers,' to include Sandy MacLean, of whom we had a lovely afternoon with. We are planning to attend again this year and would love to reunite with familiar faces, as well as meeting some new ones (We are already aware that unfortunately, Sandy will be out of town the weekend of May 12).

We hope to see you there!

Alex Beaton's story from the Kentucky Scottish Weekend website:

Alex won’t be here this year.

In our very earliest days, out of friendship, Alex Beaton came from California to help us get started and only charged for expenses. He’s been here ever since. Until now!

Shortly after last KSW, Alex fell and became completely paralyzed. Couldn’t move, speak, or even breathe without mechanical support. He’s recovering slowly, breathing on his own, conversant but not mobile. Alex is a fighter but this has been a long and tough one with more to come. And the medical bill is staggering, and there is yet more of that to come as well.

Alex Beaton is arguably the best traditional Scottish singer in the United States, if not the world. He has been a part of KSW almost from the beginning as our featured entertainer, Master of Ceremonies at reception and Ceilidh, singer at the Sunday service and, most of all, friend. Good friend. Much of our format and success was due to Alex and dozens of other Games will say the same.

He never forgot a name or a face. Very early in our association, Arch Ott attended a games in California. Alex was set up on the wall of one of two opposing warehouses which he chanced to go between, not knowing Alex was even there. Alex was in the middle of a performance, so Arch hugged the far wall to be unobtrusive as possible, but Alex stopped and announced “There’s Arch Ott, my good friend from Cincinnati.” What other celebrity would do that, or could.

Alex won’t be here this year, and without his help years ago we probably wouldn’t either. So...we figure we owe him and to that end, we have set-up an Alex Beaton table in his usual place in the Main Tent where you can purchase his music, send him messages, and make contributions to his medical expenses.

http://www.kyscottishweekend.org/home.htm

Sandy and I at the 2011 Kentucky Scottish Weekend.


Cheers,