ST ANDREW SOCIETY OF HAWAII

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Another Festival in the Books...

We hope you were able to come out and join us for this year’s excellent festival! 

The festival, organized by the nonprofit Hawaiian Scottish Association, brings together all sectors of the Scottish community in the Islands and even from the Mainland and abroad. Festival organizer (and the association’s chieftain) Gregg Fraser says the event celebrates the relationship between Hawai‘i and Scotland forged many decades ago when Scottish businessman Archibald Scott Cleghorn married Princess Miriam Likelike. Their daughter, Princess Victoria Ka‘iulani, was born in 1875.

Each year you can catch live entertainment, including sports, hula hālau, song and dance, along with swordplay, weaving and fencing demonstrations, and traditional food and crafts. Learn more about each clan’s heritage by visiting their booths. 

The opening ceremony and parade began at noon on both days, followed by a dance competition, bagpiping and other cultural demonstrations from local groups, as well as a handful from the Mainland, Scotland and Canada.

A popular part of the festival is the Highland Games competition, featuring sports such as the caber toss, a complicated event that involves throwing an upright long log; the stone putt, similar to the shot put; and hammer throw, in which participants fling a 16- to 22-pound metal ball attached to a shaft. Congratulations to all the participants and winners! 

 Organizers also put on a solo bagpiping competition honoring the late Aggie Wallace, a renowned local piper and teacher. Fancy yourself a piper or drummer? Enter next year! It’s always fun to play alongside local talent and those who join us from overseas. 

Thanks to Celtic Pipes Rock for incredible performances, the Kiltlifters, Red McWilliams, Jori Chisholm, Natalie Clark, and Peter Daldry from the mainland and Scotland and all our incredible local talent - including Lisa Gomes, Celtic Pipes and Drums, Celtic Kula, and all the fabulous dancers! 

Check out our photos for a taste! 

More info: http://hawaiianscottishassociation.org/festival-information

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