By: Chelsea Metheny
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Scottish and Celtic heritages united once again on Sept. 9 through 12, at the 34th annual Longs Peak Scottish Irish Highland Festival in Estes Park. Thousands celebrated with plenty of food, music, competitions, shopping and dancing.
The festival was founded by James A. Durward in 1976, 100 years after Durward’s grandfather moved to Colorado from Scotland. The festival originally began as a picnic with three families who shared a passion for Scottish and Irish heritages. The gathering attracted a small crowd, along with some pipers and dancers. 34 years later, the festival has attracted tens of thousands of people from around the world.
“The town of Estes Park is honored to host the Longs Peak Scottish/Irish Highland Festival as it celebrates a remarkable tradition of 34 consecutive years in Estes Park.” said William Pinkham, mayor of Estes Park.
“I’ve been coming to the Scottish Irish Festival since I was a little kid,” said Jessica Downey, 20, a native Coloradoan. “The festival has allowed me to get in touch with my Irish heritage.”
Irish and Highland dancing competitions, pipe bands, athletes, dog competitions and the annual parade were among other events at the festival. The Longs Peak Scottish Irish Highland Festival parade is the largest Celtic parade in North America, holding Estes Park as the Celtic capital of the U.S.
Origins of the Scottish athletics show the strength of the Highland occupants that came up with them. Hammer throws, putting the stone, and caber throwing contests were all represented as strong man competitions. Putting the stone is just like shot put, except a large stone is used, weighing about 17 pounds.
A large crowd gathered for the caber toss event, where competitors must toss a telephone pole end over end. The caber averages about 19 feet long, and weighs 167 pounds. The competitors had to lift the pole up, and balance it vertically into the air with their hands underneath. Struggling to keep it balanced, the competitors must run to gain momentum in order to complete the toss.
Many of these games are acknowledged as Olympic events. The world record holders from the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Scotland competed in this year’s competition.
The Dogs of the British Isles are yet another spectacle of the celebrations. According to the AKC, 150 breeds are recognized, and 60 of those are native to the British Isles. These dog competitions give spectators the opportunity to learn about the various breeds that display their unique features and amazing abilities.
Terrier races, herding demonstrations, high flying performance disc dogs, and various dog agility races are some of the events offered. These dogs are an important part of the celebration, as many of these breeds were once known to protect the farm or castle and the herds of livestock, helped flush game on hunts and were faithful companions to their masters.
The three-day jousting event has been a crowd favorite every year. The sound of clanging metal and horse hoofs pounding against the dirt bring the spectators back to the time of the knights.
A joust is a form of combat between two knights on horseback. Each competitor is armed with a 13 foot lance. Galloping the horses toward each other, the purpose is to unseat the opponent from the saddle with the lance, or striking a shield which the competitors must carry.
The jousting is divided between light armor and heavy armor. Heavy armor jousting is the largest event, as jousters aim to knock the enemy off of his or her horse. An additional jousting event is called Skill at Arms, where jousters are timed as they take their turns at spearing hay bales, rings, and spear throwing at certain targets.
Riders traveled from Canada, Europe, and across the U.S. to joust in Estes Park, which is considered the most prestigious true jousting competition in the world.
“It was the coolest thing I had ever seen,” said CSU equine event management student Kelsey Brazik. As part of the horse event management class, the students had to work the jousting arena. “All of the competitors were in full chain-mail suits and wore iron masks. It made me feel like I was in the medieval times.”
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