In a Topsy-Turvy World, the Highland Games Bring a Taste of Tradition

In a Topsy-Turvy World, the Highland  Games Bring a Taste of Tradition
The Round Hill Highland Games return to Lime Rock Park in Salisbury, Conn., on Sunday, June 26, with caber tossing, a 1-mile kilted run and many other exotic delights.  Photo by Cynthia Hochswender

For most people, it won’t make much difference that this year’s Round Hill Highland Games will be slightly different than they are in a normal year.

First of all, who really knows what normal means in a COVID-19 world.

And second, how can you really use the word “normal” when you’re talking about a day-long event at a race track that is dedicated to bag piping, throwing curling stones and tossing wood cabers the size of telephone poles.

“This year the athletic events are going to be a little smaller than usual,” said event organizer Cathy Sutherland (who was in quarantine with COVID at the time of this interview, just in case anyone thinks the pandemic is over).

Happily, it isn’t illness that’s taken the top caber tossers and shot putters away from these, the 99th annual Round Hill Highland Games (the games have been at Lime Rock Park in Salisbury, Conn., for about the last five years). The top competitors will be away at the U.S. Strongman Nationals that weekend.

Really, though, part of the charm of the Round Hill Games is the efforts of newcomers and amateurs to learn, with seriousness and determination, how to spin and throw heavy lead balls on chains and how to heave a lead shot putt from their shoulder.

It isn’t just burly Scotsmen in kilts taking part in these shows of strength and grace; the participants are unexpectedly diverse, including many women and many people of different colors and cultures, all joined together by the patterns of their tartans.

So don’t worry that the top national caber tossers won’t be at Lime Rock Park this Sunday, June 26. The gates open at 8:30 a.m. and activities continue until 4:30 p.m.

The schedule of events is a little bit loose-y goose-y but mid to late afternoon is an excellent time to go and see the pipe band competitions (my favorite). In the morning, there are individual pipers and drummers who are performing, and being judged. In the afternoon, though, you can witness the truly lovely and inspiring spectacle of the pipe and drum bands marching in formation, clad in their dressiest tartans and twirling their tasseled drum sticks.

At the end of the day, around 4 p.m., all the bands will come together for a mass parade.

Although the piping is my personal favorite part of the Highland Games, there is more (much more!) to do.

There will be demonstrations of Scottish arts and culture, including live music and Highland dancing. Members of the Norfolk Curling Club will have a tent on the grounds, and will bring their portable stones, so visitors can try a hand at curling.

There will be a variety of libations, including iced teas from Harney & Sons of Millerton, N.Y., and craft beers from Great Falls Brewing Co. in North Canaan, Conn.

There will be a whiskey tasting; you can either come and purchase individual samples, or pay a flat fee and attend an educational talk about how to drink whiskey properly.

Food will be served alongside the whiskey, and there will also be food trucks at the park.

“There won’t be any haggis this year,” Sutherland said, with regret, referring to the classic Scottish dish of sheep innards stuffed with oatmeal.

“There is a supply chain interruption and we can’t get sheep stomachs,” she explained.

Which takes us back to our original point: Our world continues to be abnormal, but the Highland Games are not exactly normal anyway — and yet they are rooted in centuries-old traditions.

Come on down to Lime Rock Park on Sunday, June 26, and be transported to another place and time. Learn more and order tickets at www.rhhg.org.

Latest News

Backgammon series begins at Hotchkiss Library of Sharon
Backgammon lessons kicked off Wednesday, Aug. 13, at The Hotchkiss Library. Instructor Roger Lourie works with Pam Jarvis of Sharon, while his wife, Claude, assists at a second board with Janet Kaufman of Salisbury.
Leila Hawken

In light of rising local interest in the centuries-old game of Backgammon, Wednesday afternoon backgammon instruction and play sessions are being offered at The Hotchkiss Library of Sharon. The first such session was held on Wednesday, Aug. 13, attracting two enthusiastic participants, both of whom resolved to return for the weekly sessions.

Expert player and instructor Roger Lourie of Sharon, along with his equally expert wife, Claude, led the session, jumping right into the action of playing the game. Claude chose to pair with Janet Kaufman of Salisbury, a moderately experienced player looking to improve her skills, while Lourie teamed himself with Pam Jarvis of Sharon, who was new to the game.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dugazon opens in Sharon, blending Southern roots with global style

Pantry essentials at Dugazon

Jennifer Almquist

You are invited to celebrate the opening of Dugazon, a home and lifestyle shop located in a clapboard cottage at 19 West Main Street, the former site of The Edward in Sharon. The opening is Wednesday, Aug. 27 at 11 a.m.

After careers in the world of fashion, Salisbury residents Bobby Graham and his husband, Matt Marden, have curated a collection of beautiful items that reflect their sense of design, love of hospitality, and Graham’s deep Southern roots. Dugazon is his maternal family name.

Keep ReadingShow less
Scrap to sculpture: Matt Wabrek of Birch Lane Rustics
Matt Wabrek creates sculpture from found scrap metal and wood.
L. Tomaino

A giant fish that sold at Trade Secrets, the high-end home and garden show held at Lime Rock Park, is just one of the creatures that Matt Wabrek of Birch Lane Rustics in North Canaan, creates by welding old tools and pieces of metal together.

The fish was so well liked by browsers at Trade Secrets that he received commissions for others.

Keep ReadingShow less