Clannish carousing and sport in kilts

Published 2:00 pm Saturday, August 16, 2003

What’s your clan? It’s not your every day pick up line, but it might have worked Saturday at the fifth annual Whidbey Island Highland Games and Clan Gathering.

Several thousand mad-about-plaid wannabe Scotsmen and Scotswomen descended on the plains of Whidbey to dance jigs, fling weights, toss cabors and dig for ancestral roots.

The day’s gathering of the clans was sponsored by the Whidbey Island Celtic Society, a local group dedicated to perserving their Scottish past and giving it life today.

Games organizer Mary Campbell said attendance was down a little, probably due to the rain. Several thousand participants follow the Highland Games circuit, but many curious islanders and tourists stopped by as well.

While the Whidbey Island Highland Games are miniscule compared to the ones held in Enumclaw at the King County Fairgrounds, Campbell said the island games are well-liked.

“People love this one because it’s more personal,” she said.

Saturday morning a serious rain fell on the tents and competiton fields, and dancers scrambled to put a cover over the wooden dancing platform. Scottish singer Red McWilliams called it “a fine Scottish summer day,” with rain clouds threatening much of the day.

The golden rolling hills reminded Kevin Auld, Pipe Major for the Washington Scottish Pipe Band of Shoreline, of Scotland; except for the alpaca, which had to stand in for Scotland’s ubiquitous sheep.

More than a dozen clans offered informational tents with maps of Scotland and Ireland for those hoping to trace their heritage back to the auld sod. John and Sheila Wilder of Naples, Florida were looking for either Maher or O’Connor, without luck.

Strains of “Haste to the Wedding,” wafted on the air while people perused the many vendors of Celtic art. Bagpipes squawked and groans as they were filled with air in preparation for belting out tunes in competition.

The Society for Creative Anachronisms hosted a fighting arena where people with more braun than brains could take a whack at men in full armor. Chris Baker of Palm Desert was cheered on by his young blood-thirsty sons as he took on an armored behemoth. To his credit, Baker got in a few good whacks before the referee told him no blows to the head.

An Army reserve medic, Baker said he was used to a different kind of weapon — a 9mm handgun. While the Society for Creative Anachronisms specializes in recreating the Middle Ages as they should have been, they draw the line at hanguns in combat.

In the field near Wonn Road young Scottish dancers waited nervously while their best dancing efforts were judged. Glittering trophies waited on a side table. Most of them had been dancing since they could walk, and their dance moves were both studied and effortless.

While the adjudicated dancers performed the more rigid “step dancing,” at a dance stage in the middle of the vendor booths, the Skagit Scottish Country Dance organization showed that Scottish “set” dancing was fun for everyone. After a few demonstration dances they invited anyone to join in the fun. A good time was had by all, even if Michael Flatley, aka The Lord of the Dance, might have cringed at the flinging arms and swirling skirts.

Skagit Scottish dancer Di Evans said the group is based in Anacortes, but will be giving lessons in Oak Harbor at the Senior Center starting Sept. 8.

She had one request: “We need men.” The lone male dancer in attendance, Jack Herring, disagreed with that view. He liked the odds just fine.