Wayne County, NC - Heritage Series Reprinted with permission of the Mount Olive Tribune and cannot be reproduced without permission. The Highland Games "Our Heritage" By Claude Moore Tuesday, October 9, 1992 For years I had wanted to go to Scottish Highland Games. Last Saturday I attended the 16th annual Flora MacDonald Highland Games near Red Springs, North Carolina with about 2,000 other persons. It was an appropriate location because Red Springs is in the heart of the country settled by the Scottish Highlanders between 1745 and 1775. Flora MacDonald College named for the Scottish heroine was located in Red Springs. The descendants of these pioneers have scattered all over the United States and many came back to celebrate their Scottish heritage. Many highland clans are organized and some had booths at the games, including the following families: Graham, MacDonald, Campbell, Cameron, Keith, MacArthur, MacIntyre, MacLean, MacMillan, MacNeil, Rose and others. Tartans of the clans, mugs with clan insignia, Scottish food, and other articles reminiscent of the highlands were for sale. The games were held in a large field of well mowed Bermuda grass and in the center was a large area roped off for the numerous events. Bands of bag pipers played all day, but the outstanding feature was Alex Beaton, an internationally recognized Scottish recording star from Glasgow, Scotland. He sang many folk songs, accompanied by guitar and he had cassettes for sale. Hundreds of persons wore kilts and other Scottish attire. In fact, a number of Confederate uniforms were in evidence. On a special platform, there was Scottish dancing during the day in appropriate dress. On Saturday morning there was competition in highland dancing, piping and drumming, sheep dog competition, highland athletic competition, and a parade of tartans and massed pipe bands. Hundreds of folding chairs were provided and many sat on the grass. I had the occasion to talk to a number of visitors from Scotland, Canada, and from all over the United States. The guides were volunteers and there was no evidence of police officers. There was some food for sale but many brought their own lunch. I had lunch with some friends from Wilmington who belonged to the MacDonald clan. Some activities were held at Flora MacDonald Academy in Red Springs which I did not attend. On Sunday a special Scottish service was held at the Presbyterian Church in Red Springs. On Sunday afternoon a Revolutionary War Battle re-enactment was held at the games site as well as a concert by Alex Beaton. Highland Games are also held at Grandfather Mountain in western North Carolina and in other parts of the country where the highlanders settled. The highland Scottish heritage in North Carolina is promoted by Scottish Heritage U.S.A., with its headquarters in Pinehurst, N.C., and St. Andrews Society of N.C. with its headquarters in Southern Pines, N.C. ============================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Guy Potts ==============================================================