Come for a fun-filled day enjoying your Scottish heritage and all things Celtic – listen to Scottish and Celtic music, watch Highland and Scottish Country dancing; catch the Irish dancers who will perform step and clog dancing.
The Iron Thistle Scottish Heritage Festival & Highland Games takes place on April 26 and 27 (Saturday 10 to 6; Sunday 10 to 5) at the Kirkpatrick Family Farm, 1001 Garth Brooks Blvd, Yukon, Oklahoma. Admission is $5 - under age of 9 free.
The music and dance entertainers will perform on three stages. Acoustical music will feature bagpipes, guitars, mandolins, pipes and whistles. Celtic music groups will play and sing Scottish and Irish music that will have your toes tapping and hands clapping. Pipe & Drums bands will be playing, with a Massed band performance at noon each day.
In the children's area there are games and crafts for all ages then participate in the interactive activities with the Arthurian Order of Avalon. Sword fighting, battling the enemies, and rescuing the fair maiden! There is to be a scavenger hunt that will have items to collect from anywhere on the grounds of the festival. A train will be giving free rides to all the youngsters, young or old.
Many Clans will have their tents set up to help you discover your family name, roots and history. Many individuals will be dressed in their traditional Clan tartan and interact with the public throughout the event. Celtic historical information and stories will be shared. Want to know how to trace your family tree? Attend a free Genealogy workshop to learn how and where to start. An expert Genealogist will be on hand to teach the workshop and help anyone looking to get starting digging into their family history.
Festival-goers will enjoy watching medieval Highland games, or athletic competitions, that have athletes competing in ancient games of strength and agility both days. Have you heard of "Tossing the Caber"? Where a competitor will toss a telephone pole end over end or "Throwing the Hammer"? Just two of the many events to be seen.
The Games are sanctioned by the North American Scottish Games Association. All competitors' results will be posted on their website at nasgaweb.com. Participants will be able to view their points and their ranking among all other competitors all across North America. The best and main event of the athletic competition, only done at our festival, is the carrying of a 300 lb Iron Thistle. Watch the test of strength and endurance to see how far any one of the competitors can carry it.
Browse the many vendors that will have food and merchandise from Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales. Try the food, Scotch eggs, shortbread and Irn Bru is always on the menu. You will find Guinness for the Irish in the crowd. See what merchandise is offered by the vendors from beautiful silver jewelry, pick up a kilt, all order of dress to complete your Scottish attire, flags or Celtic wear of all kinds, scarves, cups made of horn, figurines and wooden swords. If it is Celtic you will find it there.
Pets are welcome and all children under the age of 9 can enjoy the day free! Free parking is available at the Yukon Middle School, directly north of the Festival grounds.
You can always go to the website uscoscots.org or the Face Book page www.facebook.com/IronThistle page for more information. The Festival is sponsored by United Scottish Clans of Oklahoma, the City of Yukon, OK and The Kirkpatrick Family Family Fund.
For more information about top events in Oklahoma take a look at the Top Events USA selection of the annual main festivals and events in Oklahoma.