Wednesday 2 July 2008

Tacoma Highland Games

We arrived at Frontier Park around 7:30 and unloaded all of our stuff. Everyone helped set up our clan tent and put everything in order.
The piping and dancing events started around 8:30. David played around 9:05 and Esther was supposed to dance somewhere between 9-9:15. Of course, both events were in different areas--completely on the opposite sides of the park!
David went over a bit early to tune his pipes and start warming up. In the "piping" area you have about 20 or so other pipers warming up plus competition going on all around you. It can be quite an interesting sound! He played very well and placed 1st and 2nd. His second judge told him he should be playing in the next level!


Esther competed in three dances and placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd! A friend and fellow dance student from her studio, Colby Allen, placed 1st, 1st and 2nd. She received the trophy for the overall best dancer in that age category. We were all very excited for them! They have worked very hard and it has all paid off!
Dancing ended around noon when the main events started. All the clans gathered together and marched around on the parade ground while the MC announced each clan and thanked them for being there. Then came the singing of the National Anthem and a bunch of speeches which we didn't wait around for because we were all standing in the hot sun and we didn't want to fry! The afternoon hours are pretty much down time. We all hung out at the Pollock tent and tried to stay cool. Mom and David went shopping for some piping supplies and tried to find a chanter for Daniel. They came back with strawberry lemonades for everyone to share.

The day ended with closing ceremonies and massed bands. All four pipe bands played together at once! What a sound! : ) We quickly packed up all our stuff and headed home. Our grandmother and Uncle Jeff had come up for a visit, so to beat the heat, we met them at Dairy Queen for dinner and an opportunity to cool off.
Here is a slide show of additional pictures from the games.



7 comments:

Kilted Fiddler said...

I look sooooooo dumb!!!!!!!!

Stephen Bittner said...

Fantastic post! Love the shots. And Jonathan, you don't look dumb - only a little... eccentric? :)

Sarah said...

Stephen ~ We all thought it would have been so much fun if ya'll could have been there with us. Although, I don't know if we could ever get you to wear a kilt! : )

Stephen Bittner said...

Of course I would! A kilt only looks feminine if you've got a normal person in normal settings, just walking down the street with a normal shirt. No, if I had the full costume, I'd wear it to support good ol' David. Tell him that I am extremely impressed that he picked up from his sorrowful slump last year. Keep on blowing those judges away!!!

Anonymous said...

Bonnie good post fellow Scot! I noticed that your tartan-clad siblings had different tartans on. Which one is your family's?

P.S. I have to ask: Was the Macdonald clan properly represented? ;)

Sarah said...

Britty Mac ~ LOL!! Our tartan is the kilt that David (our piper) is wearing and also my sash.

I didn't really look around to see what clans were represented, but Mom said the McDonalds were absent. :( I am sure they only attend the larger sized games. Tacoma is rather small.

Victoria said...

Congratulations to David and Esther. Loved the pictures of her dancing! Well done both of you, practice pays off.

Also loved the "devoted sisters" pictures. Victoria