www.scottishfest.com
SPECIAL PREVIEW ISSUE!!
Southern California's Largest Scottish Highland Games and Celtic Festival
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Scottish Fest Special Issue
Irish Arts and Entertainment
Welcome to the Scottish Fest USA Preview Issue! ach year the Celts and Clans of Southern California gather to celebrate Scottish Pride and Hospitality at the County Orange Fairgrounds and Event Center in CosON THE COVER ta Mesa. For many years, the Irish Arts & Entertainment On our cover, we offer our readers a glimpse of has been invited to participate in this grand gathering. We the excitement in store for visitors to Scottish Fest are delighted to participate with our fellow Celts and to USA! Pictured are The Scottish Fiddlers of LA, Exwelcome all of Southern California to join us in attendciting Bands, The Marine Corps Band, Marching Piing this great event. Please be sure to drop by our IRISH pebands, Caber Tossing and much more!! ARTS OUTREACH BOOTH! We will be doing our annual Opt In and Win contest for everyone that signs up for our E-Newsletters and our Digital or Print issue of the Irish Arts & Entertainment.
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Scottish Fest Special Issue
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Southern California's Celtic Festival is Coming To Orange County United Scottish Society (USS) a non-profit organization Proudly Presents
New for 2016 If you haven’t been to the festival or are long time guests this year has exciting new features you don’t want to miss.
Alex Beaton Returns
Irish Whisky
In a non-performance appearance Alex returns to the festival that started his festival career. Alex looks forward to seeing his fans and chatting with old friends.
The festival will offer an Irish Whisky as part of the premiere Whisky Tasting. The Irish Whisky will be part of the World Tasting that includes whiskies from Japan, England, USA, Scotland and Ireland
Heritage Stage The new stage will feature traditional music and entertainment such as harpers and fiddlers. Increasing the number of stages provides the opportunity to add more entertainment to the festival.
Beard & Moustache Contest
May 28th and 29th OC Fair & Event Center Daily 9am to 6pm The family friendly festival has the best of Scottish and Celtic entertainment and events from the sounds of bagpipes to crack’n Celtic music to men and women throwing heavy objects in the professional and amateur athletics to dancing to numerous children’s activities to sheep herding demos to the smells of authentic Celtic foods and the sights of the kilts.
Do you have a beard or mustache that you want to enter to be judged in the contest? Several categories to win: Mustache; Partial Beard; Full Beard (beards over and under 12 inches).
Irish Coffee Contest With the addition of Irish Whisky to the Whisky Tasting it makes sense to add Irish Coffee
Canadian Youth Pipe Bands The all youth world champion Robert Malcolm Memorial Pipe Bands from Canada are part of the World Class Pipe Band Contest .
Rock ‘N Piper Retired U.S. Marine Joel M. Daniel performs classic rock and modern pop songs transcribed to the GHB such as AC/DC, Lady Gaga, Journey, Fun, Joan Jet, and many others.
The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing g Band B an n d Returns R turns to the F e s t i v a l Re
Irish Arts and Entertainment
Comedic Talent of Christopher You may know him as the Rusty Bawls Show, or as stilt character "McCloud", or his comical look at Contemporary Scottish Rock Musicians show, but no matter how you know him you always know you’ll be entertained. A graduate of the Wellington Preforming Arts School in New Zealand, Christopher has performed on five different continents and no matter the age will win people’s hearts. Christopher brings a comedic energy to his Edinburgh Festival like performances at the festival. Don’t miss him!
Crack'n Celtic Music
al touring band since 1995. Don't think this is dry, The 2016 music line-up at Scottish Fest is one of dusty music for museum the best in Southern California with all the favorshelves as the Wicked ites like Bad Haggis, Wicked Tinkers, Neil O'Neill, Tinkers merge the best of Sligo Rags, Highland Way, modern, almost rock-andand the Ploughboys. roll energy with the hypnotic, insistent grooves of The musical performances their Gaelic ancestors. span the spectrum of Celtic Rare is the bystander music from the troubadour who comes away without Neil O'Neill to the cutting-edge feeling a surprising, Celtic fusion with rock by Bad sometimes bewildering Haggis. connection to longforgotten primal emotions. This will be the 17th year Bad Haggis brings their hearing-is-believing sonic exThe whisky tavern stage is growing perience to festival. The band is led by “the most in popularity with the entertaining recorded piper of all time”, show, "Learn To Play the Bagpipes" Eric Riggler. A few of his by John Allan. John masterfully credits are Outlander, blends comedy and music while Braveheart, Titanic, Men in providing insight to how one plays Black, and the Simpsons the bagpipe. Neil O’Neill is considplus he's in demand by ered one of the premiere Celtic singers and his studios from Hollywood to melodic voice contributes to the success of the Nashville to Abbey Road, whisky tavern stage. bringing the timeless, The new heritage haunting sonorities of stage features the the uilleann pipes, the melodic strings of Great Highland Bagthe Raggle Taggle pipe and whistle to auHarpers and the diences around the toe tapping driving world. force of fiddle muA festival favorite are the pioneers of the growing sic. Scottish Fest has some of the best fiddlers in Tribal Celtic movement. The Wicked Tinkers Southern California with performances by the have been playing haunting, heart-pounding bag- Scottish Fiddlers of Los Angeles. pipes and irresistible tribal drums as a profession- A strong entertainment line-up indeed!
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Scottish Fest Special Issue
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the Clans...
Shop, Shop and Shop
Vintage Cars
It would not be Scottish Fest without the heritage, vivid color, and pageantry the clans bring to the festival. With 70+ Scottish clans and organizations on hand, tracing your heritage can be a fulfilling experience of learning about the colorful and often bloody history.
If you love to shop then you'll love about 60 celtic vendors selling a wide variety of Celtic products at Scottish Fest . From a kilt, to sweets, to books and jewelry; from a sword to a sporran to a set of bagpipes it can all be purchased from the plethora of shops at Scottish Fest.
How many different makes of British Cars can you name? Most people when they think of British Cars think MG, Healey, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Rolls Royce, Bentley and Mini. Although most of them have disappeared over time, there have been over 940 different British car makes and more than 75 Scottish car manufacturers. Stop by the Vintage Car display to see a variety of fine British automotive designs and engineering. The owners are always willing to talk about the cars.
The Clan is a concept which dates back to the 12th Century. While the word 'clan' is derived from the Gaelic 'clann', meaning family or children, not everyone in the same clan is related to each other. It's a common error that every person who bears a clan's name is a lineal descendant of the chiefs. Find out more about your lineage at Scottish Fest.
Children’s Activities The festival is a family friendly event with a wide array of activities for all ages. There will be activities such as children's athletics, inflatable jumpers, sheep herding demonstrations, face painting and archery.
They'll be plenty of products with tartan which is the symbolic national dress of Scotland after the Dress Act of 1746 banning the tartan and other aspects of Gaelic culture was repealed in 1782. The kilt is the most iconic use of tartan, but there is also the solid color Irish kilt and the more recent and practical utility kilt.
Professional Athletics Scottish Fest is a festival of champions with one of the only festivals in Southern California that has a Professional Class Athletic Championship in events such as the Caber Toss, Throwing the Weight, Putting the Stone and Hammer Throw. These championships are extremely physical, mentally challenging and exciting to watch.
Irish Arts and Entertainment
Highland Dancing Championship Scottish Fest is proud to host the Western Regional Highland Dancing Championship that is a qualifier for the U.S. National Championship at the end of July in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Western Region has a pedigree of winners at the Nationals and last year was no different with Erin Blair and Kaylee Finnegan winning Championship titles at last year's competition. They represented the Western Region that is comprised of Arizona. California, Hawaii and Nevada. Only at Scottish Fest will you see the top dancers in each age group qualify to compete at this year's National Championships. Competing at the festival will be Erin Blair who won her second World Juvenile Champion title at the Cowel Games in Scotland last year. Two sought after titles at the festival are the City of Edinburgh Medal awarded to the best dancer at Scottish Fest each year and the Robert Lyall Lowe Memorial Scholarship Award presented to the winner of a special Highland Fling event for any California dancer under the age of 7 New this year, you can learn some of the basic steps at the Highland Dancing Learning Experience. It will provide an opportunity to try some of the basic steps. Come visit the dancers at Scottish Fest and join us on to watch the 2016 Championship competition in the Nan Daley Highland Dancing Pavilion.
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Plethora of Pipe Bands Galore Scottish Fest hosts the largest Pipe p Band Championship p p in Southern California. with about 23 pipe bands planned to compete from Canada to states like Arizona, Utah and of course California. Two bands connected to the Irish tradition will compete, Bushmills Irish Pipe Band and the LA Police Emerald Society Pipes and Drums. The LA Scots Grade I pipe band will also be performing daily. The Scottish or Irish pipe band in its most common form consists of pipers playing the Great Highland Bagpipe (In Ireland known as the Great Irish War pipes), snare drummers, tenor drummers and usually a bass drummer. The drum section is known collectively as the drum corps. The entire band is led by a pipe major and the drum corps is led by a drum sergeant. The pipe band began in the military, but its origins are obscure, and historical records exist mostly in hints gleaned from contemporary regimental records that had no direct interest in pipes. It is known that pipers served in regiments from the earliest times; the Royal Scots have records referring to pipers dating back to the early seventeenth century. The tunes played consists of music from the Scottish, Irish and Breton traditions, either in the form of traditional folk tunes and dances, or music that has been adapted for the pipes. Examples are marches, slow airs, jigs, reels, and strathspeys. Competition is a focus for many pipe bands throughout the world during the spring to autumn period. Pipe bands are judged in three areas: bagpiping, drumming and ensemble (pipes and drums playing together). In addition to the band competitions Scottish Fest is home to the largest solo field in Southern California with over 150 piping and drumming competitors from the novice to professional class in a variety of music types such jigs, hornpipes, reels and marches.
Scottish Fest Special Issue
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Irish Whisky Added to P r e m i e r e W h i s k y Ta s t i n g at Scottish Fest Over the past several years Scottish Fest has built its Whisky Tasting into one of the finest in Southern California by combining a unique hard to find variety of premium whiskies along with a knowledgeable and entertaining whisky master, Chris Uhde. Chris is also the founder of the Southern California Whisky Club.
New this year to the festival’s premium offering of tastings is a selection of whiskies from around the world. The new offering includes a 10yr Irish Single Malt, two Japanese whiskies, a triple smoke single malt from the United States, a cask strength whisky from England and rounding out the selection is the Exclusive Malts Glen Keith 19yr from Scotland Whisky tasting is the analysis of whisky through aroma, visual examination and taste. Single cask is a premium class of whisky in which each bottle comes from an individual ag-
ing barrel, instead of being created by blending together the contents of various barrels to provide uniformity of color and taste. Even whiskies that are not blends may be combined from more than one batch, or even from differing years to achieve their consistency. Cask strength is a term used in whisky-making to describe the level of alcohol-by-volume and cask strength whiskies are usually not diluted by water in production. In addition to the Around the World flight of whiskies, the Beauty of Cask Strength Whisky flight features the "Speyside Whisky of the Year"- Whisky Advocate Magazine - Tamdhu Batch Strength Edition 117.6 proof. Surrounding this fine whisky are five others including a 28yr Exclusive Malts Caledonian Single Cask. This year’s premium tasting is a Cask limited edition of Scotch Whiskies with a retail price for these bottles of over $1,000 combined. Leading the flight is the 42yr Exclusive Malts Invergordon Single Cask whisky. Three of the remaining five whiskies are 19yr old or better. Truly and exceptional flight of whiskies that can’t be missed. To taste whisky at the festival visit the popular Whisky Tavern. Purchase a dram from a variety of select whiskies at the bar or join the premiere tasting sessions offered daily. The tastings sell out every year so reserve your space now on our website. * Because of the limited nature of these items, the malts are subject to change without notice.
Tasty Celtic Fare and Drink The Scottish are not known for their cuisine, but there's a variety of scrumptious Celtic food to try at the festival including haggis. Haggis is considered the national dish of Scotland as a result of Robert Burns' poem, Address to a Haggis of 1787. Ever wanted to try haggis or at least be able to say you did? Or maybe you're a lover of haggis. Whatever the case the festival offers traditional haggis either with or without a dram splash. If haggis is not on your food "bucket list" the festival offers a variety of other scrumptious Celtic fare like corned beef sandwiches, Fish ‘N Chips, bangers and meat pies. New this year is an assortment of tasty pies like Chicken Chili Verde, Lamb Curry, Macaroni and Cheese, and Cajun Spice. There's also a variety of American fare.
The selection of beers is broad and ranges from Guinness to Belhaven.
Pageantry of the Drum Majors
Sword Training by KRON
One of the highlights of the festival is the Drum Major Championship that features some of the best drum majors in the U.S. Also, the world Class Drum Majors lead the 500 plus pipers and drummers daily in the awe inspiring Mass Bands.
Go back in time and learn the technique of sword fighting. All ages welcome to battle if you dare!
Irish Arts and Entertainment
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Salute to Veterans
LA Police Emerald Society Pipes & Drums
The festival offers active, retired and veteran military personnel free admittance with a valid military ID. "It's the least we can do. These courageous men and women do so much for us each and every day...to offer free entry is a small token of appreciation", proclaims the Chieftain.
One of the bands that will be competing and performing at Scottish Fest will be the Los Angeles Police Emerald Society Pipes and Drums (LAPES). The band was established in 1992 as a non -profit, multi-agency organization with the objective of fostering goodwill among the members of the numerous law enforcement communities. The band was founded by two Los Angeles Police Emerald Society members, Scott Walton, a detective with LAPD, and Steve Kirby, a retired LAPD detective. Scott is currently the Pipe Major of the band.
The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Band will perform both days at the festival including performances with the mass bands. "We are pleased to have the brilliant musicianship of the band be a part of the 2016 festival", Chieftain Tom Reoch Jr. stated in an exclusive interview. On Sunday morning there's an opportunity to remember those that made the ultimate sacrifice at the Memorial Service officiated by Navy Chaplain Lt. Ted Leenerts (Ret). In addition, we give thanks to veterans for their service at the daily Salute to Veterans and Scottish Clan March Program. Again this year several members of the Marine band will showcase more of their talent when their rock band takes to the Beaton Stage. A festival moment to remember.
VIP Experience Ever wanted to be treated like a King or Queen? Now's your opportunity with two great value VIP packages; the Chairman and the Chieftain. You can sit and have a complimentary pint and Celtic food, amongst the action and sounds of the festival at the House of the VIP private area in the Whisky Tavern. Depending on the package selected there's complimentary t-shirts, polo shirts, parking, whisky, admittance to the festival and much more...
The band wears the All Ireland Green Tartan. In addition, many aspects of the bands uniform are more than decoration like the harp on the sporran, but none more meaningful than their bag custom made pipe covers . The bagpipe covers were selected to pay tribute and honor the memory of Policeman Ian James Campbell. Ian was a life-long bagpipe player. On March 10, 1963, while on duty, Ian was murdered. The movie The Onion Field told his story. Scottish Fest is proud to be the home of the Ian Campbell trophy that is awarded in solo piping. USS Chairman, Ron Cody, is a tenor drummer in the band. Come see the band compete and perform both days.
Visit the Website to Purchase a VIP Package or Discount Tickets www.scottishfest.com At Gate Ticket Price
Adult Senior/Student Children (5-12) Under 5 Military *
One Day
Two Day
$18 $16 $3 Free Free
$25 $22 $4 Free Free
(*Active, Retired or Veteran with valid ID)
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Scottish Fest Special Issue
Irish Arts and Entertainment
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Scottish Fest Special Issue
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2016 an Diego
June 25 & 26
ual S 43rd Ann
Scottish Highland
9am–5pm • Brengle Terrace Park 1200 Vale Terrace Dr. • Vista, CA 92084
Vendors of Everything Scottish:
From Foods to Arts & Crafts Massed Bagpipe Bands Scottish Athletics Educational Classes Highland Dancing Competition s n la C e h Drum Major ing of t & Gather Entertainment Featuring: Bag Piping and Highland Way Drumming Competitions Sheepdog Trials Scottish Country Dancing Kids’ Athletics Kid’s Area Child ID Program Opening Ceremonies Molly’s Revenge at Noon each day. The Angry Brians Closing Ceremonies Blackwaterside with Massed Pipe Bands at 4:45 PM each day. Get Your Tickets Early Pre sale Ticket Prices until June 10: Adults: $13 per day Senior & Military: $8 per day
Games
Youth 6-16: $5 per day
on: i t a m r o f n i e r For mo es.org
ndGam a l h g i H D .S w ww
6-36917 760-72 9-884-315 61
l.net a b o l g c b s @ f e i sdshgch
Irish Arts and Entertainment
Friday
September 23 rd
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Saturday
2016
September 24 th
C E LT I C P U N K
CELTIC ROCK
THE MAHONES
GAELIC STORM
FLATFOOT 56
YOUNG DUBLINERS THE FIGHTING
BLACK IRISH TEXAS BRICK TOP BLAGGERS QUEL BORDEL
THE ANGRY BRIANS HOIST THE COLORS THE MCKINTREE BOYS WHISKEY SUNDAY MIDNIGHT SATELLITES THE AMERICAN WAKE
THE TOSSERS
JAMESONS
2 DAYS OF PURE CELTIC MAGIC! # GetShamrocked
This is a 21+ event All patrons will be required to show photo ID before entering the festival.
Friday $ 20
Buy your tickets online! •
Saturday $ 30
•
EARLY BIRD SPECIAL! 2 Day pass fo r $30 expi
Two Day Pass $40
res on 3/25/16
www.GetShamrocked.com
Get Shamrocked