Ligonier Highland Games return to Idlewild Park
The Ligonier Highland Games returned to Westmoreland County this weekend for the 61st time to celebrate Scottish pride and heritage — down to kilts, bagpipes and haggis.
This is the second year the popular event is being held over two days at Idlewild Park and SoakZone in Ligonier Township.
The Ligonier Highland Games is an all-volunteer organization and the main fundraiser for the Clan Donald Educational and Charitable Trust, which each year grants a $5,000 scholarship for graduate study at a Scottish university.
More than 30 Scottish clans are in attendance, and activities include bagpipe band competitions as well as contests for dancing, fiddling, even Scottish dog breeds.
Live music, Celtic performers and food are featured along with storytelling, games and other events — including a ladies’ haggis hurling competition.
Popular athletic games include the caber toss, sheaf toss and hammer throw.
A Catholic Mass, sanctioned by the Greensburg Diocese, will be celebrated at noon Sunday.
Shane Dunlap is a TribLive photographer covering Westmoreland and Allegheny counties. He grew up in the Ohio Valley near Pittsburgh and has worked for newspapers as far away as Fayetteville, N.C., where he covered the U.S. Army at Fort Liberty. He can be reached at sdunlap@triblive.com.
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