Sorry, guess I'm behind in my reporting of the rest of the festival. We did have such a great time. I hadn't been able to attend the festival and games in Elizabeth Colorado, but my sons Timothy and Sean were there, holding up the Clan Thompson tent, and apparently made many friends. Lots of people kept stopping by our tent in Highlands Ranch and greeting them. They seemed very impressed that two young men were so interested in upholding the clan traditions. So many of the clan people are older like me, so they liked to see teenagers and twenty-somethings doing this. Plus, they remembered Sean playing pipes by the Thompson tent for at least a bit of relief from the heat for the other clans.
Sunday morning started off with a really interesting twist. They had a priest scheduled to do the Kirkin' of the Tartan service on Sunday morning, but he had to cancel and they weren't sure what to do. There was one lady who really wanted to have the service, but without a minister she didn't know what to do and the rest of the committee was thinking about canceling it. Apparently she's a friend of my sister-in-law who said, "Hey my brother-in-law is a minister, maybe he could do it."
So she contacted me, and I said, "Sure!" So I wound up leading the service, which commemorates the blessing of the tartans during the act of proscription and also honors those who have died, from the clans in the past year, and in military service. My son Sean played the pipes for it, including the almost sacred "Flowers of the Forest." It was quite a moving service. I guess they liked that well enough they asked me to give the invocation at the midday ceremonies as well.
One of the highlights of these festivals for me is the music. There are so many great bands, and something for every musical taste. There was Celtic rock, acoustic traditional music, and some great workshops and demonstrations by some very talented musicians. You can view some photos in
this photo album.
Lowell Thompson was once again named best overall athlete despite having the flu. Here's a photo of him receiving his silver tray:
Some games concentrate on different things; this one is very big on clans and clan fellowship, so it was very welcoming. I guess we're lucky here, we don't seem to have the opposition I hear about at some of the games back east. Thompsons are well known and well connected at these events and we've always been welcomed with open arms. They're very friendly and helpful. Some fellows from Clan Scott offered us help and suggestions for our tent, they've only been organized in Colorado for a few years themselves. It's very gratifying to see the level of fellowship and camaraderie at these festivals.
After last post and the massed bands, Chieftain Larry Hay invited all the clans out to the field for a wee dram and thank-you for attending. All in all, it was a great time with great folks, great music, and great food and drink.
