Bagpipers to highlight games in Ligonier
LIGONIER – Bagpipers, Highland dancers and brawny athletes tossing telephone-pole-sized logs will highlight the annual Ligonier Highland Games at Idlewild Park on Saturday, Sept. 7. The games will begin at 9 a.m. and run continuously throughout the day until 6 p.m.
Operating under the banner of the Clan Donald Educational and Charitable Trust, this Scottish festival annually draws thousands of Scots and non-Scots alike for one of the most colorful musical events in western Pennsylvania.
At noontime, visitors to the Ligonier Scottish games will enjoy 20 pipe bands performing as one huge ensemble that fills the air with the music of the great Highland pipes and drums.
On the stage of the Hillside Theater in Idlewild Park, there will be continuous shows presented by internationally famous groups like Clann an Drumma that will come to the Ligonier games from Glasgow, Scotland.
The Heirloom group will bring to the audience traditional Scottish and Irish melodies as well as songs written by the group itself.
Children receive special attention with children’s games from 10 a.m. until noon and then are treated to Barra the Bard, a Gaelic storyteller in the afternoon.
Idlewild Park is closed except for the Scottish Games on Saturday, Sept. 7.
Admission to the games is $12 for adults and $5 for children up to age 12.
Children under 6 are admitted free. Parking is also free. For a complete schedule of the weekend events, send a self-addressed envelope to the Ligonier Highland Games, P. O. Box 884, Bethel Park, Pa. 15102 or check the Web site at www.ligoniergames.org.