Dixon Scottish Games on late September calendar

Kyra Johnson takes a brief break while the rest of her team dances during the Scottish Highland Dancing competition at the Dixon Scottish Highland Games at the Dixon Fairgrounds last year. (Robinson Kuntz/Daily Republic file 2011)

DIXON — The clans will gather Sept. 29 at the Dixon May Fairgrounds for the Dixon Scottish Games for highland dancing, music, pipe band demonstrations and Scottish food and drink.

“We are hoping it will be a good year,” said Phil Venable, publicity chairman for the event. “It is a good family event and we are looking forward to having a lot of people from the community show up.”

Three Scottish bands will perform this year: Tempest, which performs a hybrid of high-energy folk rock fusing Irish reels and Scottish ballads; Men of Worth, which performs Irish and Scottish folk music; and Abroath, which performs acoustic folk songs.

Between 30 and 35 clans will have representatives at the event. There will also be highland dancing, a solo pipe and drumming competition. Bagpipe bands from Fairfield and Sacramento will perform. There will be living history displays and vendors offering food and gifts from the United Kingdom.

The games run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the May Fairgrounds at 655 S. First St. in Dixon. They are put on every year by the Dixon Scottish Cultural Association, which was founded in February 2000 to promote Scottish culture and heritage.

The original highland games were gatherings designed to identify the best warriors in each clan. The athletic events at this year’s games evolved from primitive versions created to test the contestants’ strength, stamina, agility and accuracy.

For more information about the Dixon Scottish Games and ticket prices, go to http://www.scotsindixon.org.

Reach Ian Thompson at 427-6976 or ithompson@dailyrepublic.net. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ithompsondr.

Ian Thompson

Ian Thompson has worked for the Daily Republic longer than he cares to remember. A native of Oregon and a graduate of the University of Oregon, he pines for the motherland still. He covers Vacaville and Travis Air Force Base for the Daily Republic. He is an avid military history buff, wargamer and loves the great outdoors.

View all my stories Email Me | Follow Me on Twitter