KILTS TO CABERS: Summer is irrefutably on the winding-down side of things, which means that any big trips you hoped to take before the school year got going, or other fall to-dos revved up, may not actually happen with the remaining window of time (spoiler alert). But what is happening within that window is something that summons the spirit of the Scottish Highlands, complete with the tossing of cabers, and the sounding of bagpipes, and the putting of stones, and the wearing of kilts. It's The Monterey Scottish Games & Celtic Festival, which return to the Monterey County Fair & Event Center on Saturday, Aug. 6 and Sunday, Aug. 7.
THE 49TH ANNUAL MONTEREY SCOT GAMES... will include the traditional heavy athletics that are as much a part of the Highlands as wild heather, so grab a spot and admire the skills needed for caber tossing, the sheaf toss, and the hammer & stone throw. Highland dancing, which may include over "150 jumps in a song," is also on the bill, as is a multitude of piping performances (and drumming, too). A whiskey tasting seminar, the always popular sheep dog demonstrations, Celtic handmade crafts, re-enactments that reach centuries back, and more Scotland-specific doings are on the very full weekend's very full roster.
CAN YOU MAKE SCOTLAND THIS SUMMER, STILL? You can enjoy a slice of it, in Monterey, over the bonny first weekend in August.
