I am a founding member of the Celtic Highland Games of the Quad-Cities. In August we will celebrate our tenth year. It�s a day of Highland dance, bagpiping and drumming competition, heavy athletics like the caber toss, ceili dance, and great celtic music and education in Davenport, Iowa. We try very hard to include all the celtic nations of Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, Isle of Man, Brittany, and Galicia.
Celtic Highland Games of the Quad-Cities
Mike and Lisa at Ushers Ferry
October 2004--The first weekend in October we enjoyed the All Things Scottish Festival at Ushers Ferry near Cedar Rapids. HAGGIS puts on a great day!
One of our favorite athletes, Brad, throwing the stone
October 9, 2004, we drove to St. Louis for the St. Louis Scottish Highland Games. What a wonderful event! Enjoying the games without duties let us visit with vendors, athletes, clans, and pipers. We ate meat pies and Cornish pasties, drank scotch and ale. Of course, I left some money with the vendors! And Mike joined Clan Davidson when the rep revealed his last name is Davis, too, and a sept of the Davidson Clan.
Before we came home on Sunday we stopped in St. Charles, the first capital of Missouri right on the Missouri River. Much of the village is on the historical register. We really didn't realize that until we entered town though. I just wanted to visit a shop there where we thought Mike might be able to buy a new kilt. No luck with the kilt, but we enjoyed the hours we spent in St. Charles. We'll go back sometime and stay for a night.
We ordered the kilt on-line and it arrived within days. If you're looking for reasonably priced, washable kilts, sport kilts are the way to go! He will wear the "all Irish" tartan, of greens, tan, orange, and maroon.
October 13--I was invited to the first organizational meeting of the Celtic Heritage Trail. This organization will place markers around the Iowa and Illinois Quad-Cities explaining the celtic history of this area. The trail will end at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport where a memorial celtic cross representing the seven celtic nations will be erected. I was chosen secretary of the board. Our mission is education.
January 2008, the Celtic Heritage Trail (CHeT) has seven historical markers placed in Davenport comemorating Celtic contributions to the Quad-Cities.
2007--I visited the Highland Games in West Virginia in May. In November, Mike and I attended the Highland Games of Tucson. It's always fun to see how others do things as well as letting us enjoy the games without duties.