Celtic clans set to square off by the riverside

The Kootenai Highland Gathering is set to begin today as Celtic family clans arrive in the valley to prepare for athletic events dating back several centuries.

Eight clans have signed up for this year’s event, the fourth annual Kootenai Highland Gathering, according to organizer Angie McLaury.

McLaury said the organizing committee began planning for the event since January and she’s excited for the culmination to begin today at the River Bend Restaurant Field.

“Everything is in the details,” she said. “It’s like you’ve stepped into the days of old and into a real Celtic event. Because of our rivers and our area, it couldn’t be a more beautiful area to have our Highland Games.”

The competitors are traditionally clad in Celtic gear, including kilts and clothing that bear their family seal, while carrying flags with the same crest. Even the field has been brought backward in time, marked off with hand crafted iron rods and worn hemp rope.

The event kicks off tonight with a clan meet-and-greet, dancing, an adult tug-of-war and more.

The real event gets underway at 9 a.m. on Saturday with the competitive events, including the axe toss, the caber toss, the bramer stone toss and many more. McLaury said this year’s roster of clans have traveled from the Flathead Valley, Missoula, Bozeman and Billings areas, as well as out-of-state clans coming from Idaho and Washington.

Individual competitors also compete in the event, McLaury said, usually en route to larger Highland Games held all over the world. Individual competitors seem to be making longer trips without a full clan, having traveled as far as Canada, California and Arizona.

“This event is recognized worldwide,” McLaury said of the Kootenai Games.

McLaury said the Highland Games have been growing in popularity, in the Kootenai and around the world. She said while northwest Montana’s population is certainly heavy with Norwegian heritage, the Celtic heritage has always been prevalent as well.

“People are starting to wake up to this heritage and these events,” McLaury said.

The event honors the Celtic ancestors and the nations where those ancestors settled. On Saturday, competitors and spectators will sing each of the U.S., Canadian, Scottish and Irish national anthems.

Along with spectacles of brute strength and ancient sport, the Kootenai Highland Games will also include music, Celtic-style dancing, kids games and vendors.

General admission is $8 to the public; seniors aged 65 and up pay $5, and kids 10 years old or under get in free. Gates open Saturday at 9 a.m.

For more information on the Kootenai Highland Games, call McLaury at 291-0825.

Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.