NORTHAMPTON — Lifting a 266-pound stone straight from Scotland will be just one challenge on offer Saturday at Look Park, where the Glasgow Lands Scottish Festival marks its 31st year with Highland Games, bagpipes, whisky tastings and a new “Stonelifting Try-It Station.”
The festival, which runs from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., celebrates Celtic heritage and culture with music, live demonstrations and a variety of activities for kids and adults.
“We have so many things going on that it really resonates with every age and even every ethnic group,” Glasgow Lands Chairman Peter Langmore said of the event. “It’s really multigenerational, multi-everything.”
Featured entertainers will include headlining Celtic bands Albannach, Haggis X-1 and Seven Nations, the latter of which last played at Glasgow Lands in 1998. Other musicians will include bagpipe rock band Pipe Dream with Corey Walden on the main stage, members of the Pioneer Valley Harpers Guild in the Harpers Tent and pop-up music throughout the day from Celtic and American folk duo Young Folk across from the information booth.
A variety of competitions, including pipe band, drum major, snare drum, solo pipe and drum, and Irish dancing, will bring even more music throughout the day.
Guests will also be able to see ancient Highlander life with reenactments from the group Historic Highlanders. Blacksmith Ted Hinman, the group Massachusetts Historical Swordsmanship and the Weavers Guild of Springfield will all provide demonstrations in their respective trades as well.
One new addition this year is the “Stonelifting Try-It Station.” As its name suggests, guests will be able to try to lift heavy stones in a variety of weights. One of those, in fact, is directly from Scotland: the Clach Fear Alba, reported to weigh 266 pounds.
Other amateur and professional athletes will be able to try their hand at Highland Games events like hammer throwing and caber tossing.
Men will be able to compete in the “Bonnie Knees Contest,” a comedic take on a beauty pageant, where men in kilts line up so that women can judge their knees and determine the best one.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Scottish festival without Scottish drinks. The Celtic Pub will be open from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and will serve drinks by New City Brewery in Easthampton. “The Whisky Pirate” Jay Cole will host Scotch whisky tasting masterclasses. Other food vendors will also be on-site selling a variety of goods, not just Celtic food: “We have everything from haggis to hamburgers to pizza,” Langmore said.
Guests who are too young to drink will also have plenty to do: children’s activities will include crafts, face painting, games, storytelling, train rides and versions of the Highland Games for kids. They can also check out sheep herding and see Highland cattle.
It makes sense that the festival would be family-friendly because it has a big focus on family history: representatives from a number of Scottish clans (including MacNeil, MacDougall, Gordon and Dunbar, among others) will have tents at the festival where attendees with those last names in their family tree can learn about their heritage.
Northampton Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra and state Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa will be recognized at the festival as honored guests.
Glasgow Lands started in Blandford as a one-time fundraiser to preserve a church building, but it’s grown into the second-largest event of its kind in the region and currently the only one in Massachusetts. This year, the festival is expecting a turnout of 5,000 to 6,000 people, including guests from all over New England and as far away as Maryland.
What draws people to Scottish festivals like this one, Langmore said, is how colorful Celtic culture is and how the clan system, where every family group has its own tartan design and its own battle cry, is something unlike anything in the United States.
Admission to Glasgow Lands for adults is $29 in advance or $32 that day, not including fees. Admission for children ages 6 to 12 is $6.20, including fees. Kids under 6 get in free. Whisky tasting masterclass tickets are $30, not including fees. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit glasgowlands.org. The festival will happen rain or shine.
