The Saltire and the Star Spangled Banner

The Saltire and the Stars and Stripes at Grandfather Mountain

Welcome to The Saltire and the Star Spanged Banner.  In April 2012 the University of Edinburgh made me an award from the Kerr Fry Bequest to fund a nine month study tour of Scottish Highland Games in the United States of America.  There is an average of four games a month in the USA alone.  Some attract several thousand visitors and are internationally renowned, such as Grandfather Mountain Highland Games in North Carolina.  Others are smaller affairs and more recently established, such as the Bitterroot Scottish and Irish Festival in Montana.  As a Scot I am flattered by this interest in Scottish culture, but am left wondering why these events are so popular.

 

So in the course of the coming months I will be travelling the US visiting a number of games and festivals, starting at Grandfather Mountain and ending at Tartan Week in New York City. Between times I will be visiting Bitterroot Scottish and Irish Festival in Montana; the Sycamore Shoals Celtic Festival, Tennessee; the Stone Mountain Highland Games, Georgia; the Tucson Celtic Festival and Highland Games, Arizona; the Central Florida Scottish Highland Games; and the Queen Mary Highland Games, Long Beach, California.

While visiting these events, I will investigate how Americans of Scottish descent express their heritage and in so doing will account for their popularity.  I will produce a report for the University at the conclusion of my study, but the purpose of this blog is to share some of my experiences along the way.  Please do stop by and comment, or better still make contact if you are visiting one of these games.

Finally, I would like to thank the Kerr Fry Selection Board for its generous support of this study and my wife Melanie who is my travelling companion and trusty research assistant.