“I’m not even Scottish, but I just love the Highland Games! All my friends showed up because I talked about it so much,” said Pasha Franklin, this year’s Miss Scottish Highland Games. She and many others enjoyed the sights and smells of this year’s Scottish Highland Games at Furman University this past Saturday. Pasha went on to describe how excited she is to be competing for the Miss South Carolina Pageant under the Highland Games’ title. “I really like representing something I get so excited about” she said.
Every year at the games there’s music, competitions, a park for children, lots of food, a British car show, and men in kilts. This gathering of the clans draws in people of all ages, begging them to participate in the activities, and try the different foods.
Many families and grandparents were there, but there was also an enormous amount of teenagers. Does that mean these teens had gotten up early on a Saturday morning to come to the games? It seems that they had, because they were everywhere. Nobody expected so many youths to be in costume, supporting their kin at the games.
The event sprawled out over several fields with some foreign activity being demonstrated in every little space of land. One competition was the axe throwing at a nearby target. It may sound easy, but the women’s competition proved that it was harder than it looks. The winner of that competition was a young lady who always enjoys the games. Morgan Johnston says she comes every year, and has won the contest four years in a row. “I’m Scottish, what can I say?” She exclaimed as she held up her prize, another axe.
The third place winner for the men’s competition was a young man. Miller Time was not Scottish, but he and his friends just enjoyed coming to the games, however early in the morning they started.
Justin and Kayla Keith come to the games to support their dad in the caber tossing. “We’ve been doing this for six years now, the dressing up and competing in the games” said 15 year old Kayla. They also noticed how many teenagers were at Furman on Saturday. They speculated that young people are tired of going to the movies, downtown, or just sitting at home doing nothing. “There’s culture here, maybe not that upper class English kind that’s so popular, but it is another culture” said Justin.
The older generation of Scottish folk used to be worried. Once they become too old to don their “battledress” and compete at clan meetings, they wondered if the younger generation would rise to the occasion and continue the tradition. “They all seemed so disinterested, but finally they decided to just enjoy it and play it up. I really don’t know what happened, but they’re all here now” said an elderly member of the Anderson clan.
The turnout for this year has let the older clansmen know that they may rest easy with the knowledge that their tradition will continue.
No doubt both Scottish and American parents are proud of their teens for rising early to visit the games, instead of sleeping in till midafternoon. Maybe next year all those teens can bring their parents to bask in the culture and excitement of the Scottish Highland Games.
