Guys in kilts make their yearly return
THE MEN wear skirts with, I’m told, no undies. They’re responsible for golf – the most maddening game in the history of games. They eat sheep’s stomach stuffed with heart, liver, suet and oatmeal, otherwise known as haggis.
Yet, somehow, the Scottish make it work for them. They’re downright irresistible.
And they’re bringing their brogue, their bagpipes, their tartans and their cabers to the King County Fairgrounds for the Seattle Scottish Highland Games and Clan Gathering July 30 and 31.
This is the 59th such event, and last year 30,000 bodies met one another coming through the rye.
The Saturday afternoon opening ceremony features the massing of the pipes and drums, presentation of colors and the parade of the clans.
As the weekend goes on, you can sample Scottish-style ales at the Rampant Lion Pub or the Tilted Kilt Pub; try some traditional foods; check out the Celtic Arts Showcases; research your Scottish heritage on the Avenue of the Clans and the Glen of the Clans; and visit the Scottish Farm, complete with Clydesdales, black-faced and Shetland sheep, and Scotch Highland, Angus, Ayrshire and Galloway cattle.
If that’s not enough, you’ll also find Celtic dog breeds working and playing Celtic dog poker at the Celtic Kennel.
Music and dancing, of course, fill up a good portion of the schedule, with piping and drumming competitions, highland dancing, Scottish country dancing and more.
Oh, and don’t miss the Kirkin O’ the Tartan on Sunday morning. The Presbyterians do it once a year on Reformation Sunday, and it’s a real goose-bump-raiser.
The feats of Scottish strength – the games part of the occasion – mostly seem to involve heaving things around. There’s the open stone, for instance, which is sort of like a shot put, and the caber toss, wherein, apparently, ruddy lads and lassies hurl a young tree trunk as far as they can.
Haggis doesn’t sound so crazy now, does it?
You’ll find a complete schedule of events at www.sshga.org. Or call (206) 522-2541.
Travelin’ tunes
The people behind the Bellingham Festival of Music seem pretty keyed up.
The Aug. 6 opener, they say, “rivals any concert in any hall around the world.”
The festival’s 14 performances are scheduled through Aug. 21 in seven different venues “throughout beautiful Whatcom County and the Bellingham/Mount Baker region.”
And, if you’re not familiar with the area, it’s “perfectly situated on Puget Sound and the I-5 corridor” and marked by “the authenticity of the people” and “postcard beauty.”
That’s quite a build-up.
Nevertheless, there’s a schedule of classical, jazz, opera and world music that just might deliver on the superlatives.
The aforementioned kickoff showcases Metropolitan Opera soprano Heidi Grant Murphy with the Festival Orchestra, an assemblage of 40 musicians from various American and European orchestras. They’ll start with Brahms’ Schicksalslied, followed by selected arias and that perennial crowd-pleaser, Beethoven’s Fifth.
The next day’s “Music in the Mountains” performance of the Bellingham Festival Chamber Players goes down with a salmon dinner at Mount Baker’s White Salmon Lodge.
Pearl Django, a Seattle-based gypsy jazz group, and the Patrick Lamb Band from Portland handle the Friday Night Jazz Series.
Vancouver’s Silk and Bamboo will make their festival debut with the world premiere of Canadian composer Mark Armanini’s “A Thousand Butterflies” on Aug. 17. The piece features such Chinese instruments as the guzheng, dizi, yangain, pipa and erhu.
Get the entire rundown at www.bellinghamfestival.org or by calling (360) 676-5997. Tickets run $20 to $28.
Closer to home, in Ellensburg, they’re holding Jazz in the Valley, with more than 20 jazz, blues, swing and salsa bands doing it up from July 29 to 31.
Ten different venues provide you with options – the Clymer Museum of Art, Rotary Pavilion, Sen Japanese Restaurant, Moose Lodge and more – all within easy walking distance.
The museum and Gallery One, both across from the main stage, offer up wine tastings on Saturday from 1 to 8 p.m., and The Children’s Activity Museum has some music-based fun planned for the kids.
A three-day pass costs $30 and it’s good for admission to all venues.
For tickets and other information, call (888) 925-2204 or visit www.jazzinthevalley.com.
The very same weekend, Kaslo, B.C. gets jazzy, too, with a series of shows in a natural green amphitheater on the shores of Kootenay Lake.
Food vendors and a beer garden will be right there onsite, and Friday night’s concert – with Cuban band La Candela; Toronto-based composer, pianist and singer Laila Biali; and slide guitarist and Taj Mahal, Tom Waits and Bruce Springsteen collaborator Ellen McIlwaine – is free.
All the details are at www.kaslojazzfest.com or (250) 353-7577.
Regional events
“Snohomish Garden Tour, July 24, Snohomish, Wash. Have a self-guided look at 14 different gardens for a mere $12. (360-563-2774)
“Skydive Lost Prairie 38th Annual Jump Meet, July 23-Aug. 1, Marion, Mont. As many as 500 jumpers drop in for the largest skydiving gathering in the Northwest. Take a tandem skydive from 13,000 feet – with a qualified instructor, of course. (www.skydivelostprairie.com, 888-833-5867)
“Bannock County Bluegrass Festival, Aug. 26-28, Pocatello, Idaho. Ten bands, free music workshops and craft vendors descend on the Bannock County Fairgrounds. (www.bannockcountybluegrassfestival.com, 360-436-1179)