Bob Qualls
Feature Photos by Clayton Cavaness
32nd Arkansas Scottish Festival scheduled for April 8-10
The Arkansas Scottish Festival at Lyon College began as a way to honor the college’s Scottish roots. The College was founded in 1872 by the Presbyterian Church, which has its roots in Scotland. The festival has since brought in thousands of people to the campus and the Batesville area. The 32nd Arkansas Scottish Festival is set for April 8-10 on the Lyon College campus in Batesville. Admission to the three-day festival is free. As it would in Scotland, the festival will go on rain or shine. The festival gives visitors a glimpse of traditional Scotland. The three-day event brings the best in Scottish games, entertainment and food to Batesville. Proceeds from the festival support the Scottish Heritage Program at Lyon College, including its acclaimed pipe band. Five pipe bands are expected to compete in the Southwest Pipe Band Championships April 9. The bands include the Bannatyne Pipe Band from Dallas, North Texas Caledonians, Northeast Arkansas Caledonians, Wolf River Pipe Band and Monmouth College Pipe Band. Individual pipers and drummers also are scheduled to compete in solo competitions. Members of the Ozark Highlanders from Fayetteville and the Tulsa Pipe Band in addition to members of the other bands will compete in the solo events. The opening ceremonies at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 9, feature a parade of pipe bands and clans. Vendors serve traditional Scottish food such as meat pies, haggis and Highland cattle burgers in addition to customary festival food. This year’s entertainment includes folksinger Alex Beaton and music group Celtic Breeze. Beaton is a staple of the Arkansas Scottish Festival, performing at many of the events. His musical career spans four decades and includes the creation of Glenfinnan Music, which offers a collection of 19 albums dedicated to traditional Scottish music. During his performances, Beaton likes to share fascinating bits of Scottish history to bring the music to life. Celtic Breeze is new to the festival. This Mountain View-based group plays traditional Irish, Scottish and Welsh tunes, which form the roots of much of modern folk, country and western, bluegrass and gospel music. The band consists of Robin Rains, Charley Sandage, Brooke Barksdale, Ron Ford, Charlie Mink, Leonard Clark and Dani Wallander. The Highland Games are another popular event at the festival. The games feature athletes competing in
traditional Scottish events including the caber toss, hammer throw, stone put and sheaf toss. The caber toss is the most famous Scottish field event. In this competition, athletes begin by picking up a caber – a large, tapered log that’s often thought of as a small telephone pole that can be anywhere from 12-19 feet long and may weigh from 30 to 120 pounds. The stone put is similar to shot put in track and field events. Men use a stone weighing 17 pounds, while women use an 11-pound stone. Contestants throw the heavy stones as far as possible. The sheaf toss involves a burlap bag filled with straw weighing approximately 16 pounds. The object is to toss the bag over a crossbar using a three-pronged pitchfork. There is also a Highland Games event for children featuring kid-friendly versions of the original Highland Games. The festival also has other children’s activities including the Child’s Passport program, which is a free activity where children receive a passport and take it to clan and vendor booths. They get the passports stamped at the various booths and bring it back to the Welcome Tent for a prize. Child’s Passport organizer Brenda Lindsey said she usually gives out between 200 and 400 passports during the festival. There will also be bounce houses and other inflatables for children. Other events during the weekend include, sheepdog demonstrations, Highland dancing, library book sale, feast and Ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee), bonniest knees contest, parade of massed bands, Scottish seminars, a British car show and an Iona worship service. The Arkansas Scottish Festival website provides registration information for patrons, groups, vendors, athletic competitors, clans and piping, drumming and band participants. For more information about the festival or to register, visit http://www. lyon.edu/scotfest.