Last week, Mama Nomad told me about an upcoming event nearby. It was called the Highland Games. Apparently, Custer County, Montana has a vibrant population of citizens that are of Celtic descent. And this was a celebration of the types of games seen in the Highlands of Scotland. So, last Saturday the 25th, the Nomads loaded up, and headed to the Miles City Highland Games.
* To all those who know the specific descriptors to the clothing or any other Celtic thing I may get wrong, I would appreciate your comments and please accept my apologies in advance.
We arrived shortly after the official start of the event. There were people of all ages in Kilts with socks that ranged from Argyle style to plain with a ribbon on the side. We also saw a sculpture of a horse that moved with the wind.
The games seemed to be setup for kids and adults. For instance, the caber toss had real wooden poles for the adults. But, for the kids, they had ten foot long cardboard tubes. Can’t leave the kids out. They had other traditional games as well such as the stone put (throwing a heavy stone), heavy weight toss (looked like weights from a tractor), and the Scottish hammer throw (looked like wooden clubs).
At around 5pm, they stopped the games and began the serving of food. They had BBQ along with beans, salads, fruits and sweets. For a spread that was donation based, they really did a great job. They being The Miles City Caledonian Society. It was real interesting and surreal all at the same time. I mean, we are celebrating Celtic Culture and Scottish Highland games in Montana. Mama Nomad and I began calling it the Cowboys and Kilts celebration.
After the food was served, the adults were rubbing their bellies and the kids were pumped up from the sweets, it was time for the music. Many of the kids ran off with balloons and buckets to find sources of water. Yep. They began dousing each other in water fights. The adults didn’t mind. The source of water was far from the stage so they were able to listen to the music which was performed by a band called The Rogues.
The Rogues performed for about an hour and then they took a break. They support the military as well. They sell a DVD, for $10, that they did with the Air Force band. $5 goes to the production cost and the other $5 goes to a support group for the military. After their break, they came back to tell jokes, give some toasts and do another set. They even invited The Miles City Caledonian Society to join them playing.
By this time, our boys had wandered off to a steep grassy hill. Why? What else…to roll down it racing each other, do somersaults down it and other genuinely rough and tumble boy stuff.
Mandy and I continued to listen to The Rogues play through their 2nd set which included the Theme from Outlander and the Anthems for the various Armed Forces (including the Marine Corps Hymn).
I enjoyed Highland Games, Scottish Ale, BBQ and Celtic music by The Rogues all with my boys, my best friend and wife (Mama Nomad) and a lot of good-natured, local Miles City, Montana residents. What a great Friday. I will be looking for Highland Games when we go to other areas out west. Safe Travels.
