Pictured The Highland Summer Games. Men with big poles, men in skirts ... men blowing into pipes.
The 2005 Highland Games and Scottish Festival is Friday. June 17-Saturday, June 18. It is a 'Celebration of Chicago's Scottish Tradition, Revelry and Culture.'
The Illinois Saint Andrew Society will celebrate its 160-year anniversary as the oldest charity in Illinois at the 19th Annual Highland Games and Scottish Festival. This year's festival includes:
— Bagpipe, drumming and pipe band competitions;
— Highland dance competitions;
— Sheep herding, falconry and Scottish dog demonstrations;
— Authentic Scottish cuisine, scotch seminars and Celtic merchandise tents;
— Children's Activities and Children's mini-golf and athletics;
— A genealogical research tent for tracing Scottish roots and clan information;
— Scottish heavyweight athletics, Rugby Sevens Highland Challenge, Kilted Classic Putting Contest;
— Celtic rock band performances from Another Pint, Dyed In The Wool, The Lash
and The Rogues;
— The Signature Shortbread Contest.
Events are at the Oak Brook Polo Grounds, 31st Street and York Road ( just west of York Rd. ) , Oak Brook, Ill.
Tickets and group sales purchased in advance by June 8 are available at a discounted rate. On-site tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors, $5 for children under 15. Family discount packages are available for $35 ( two adults and one or more children ) and special VIP tickets are available for $60 or two for $110. Parking is $5. For additional information visit www.chicago-scots.org or call ( 708 ) 447-5092.
The Illinois Saint Andrew Society, the oldest charity in Illinois, is a vital force in sustaining Scottish heritage through the organization of events and initiatives to support music, art, literature, dance, history, genealogy, cultural/academic/business/law/medical exchanges, sport, food and drink. The summer Highland Games, founded in 1987, welcomes more than 12,000 people from the Chicago area and around the country at the Oak Brook Polo Grounds to celebrate and participate in this wondrous event. Proceeds from the Highland Games benefit the Society and the Scottish Home, a retirement facility in North Riverside.