Scottish Festivals

Ten-year-old Courtney Sutcliffe of Irvine has won the Western United States Regional Highland Championship trophy and prestigious City of Edinburgh Medal for her dancing at the Memorial Day Scottish Highland Games last month. She earned three first-place medals and one second place, earning her the overall trophy for the Scottish National dances and the 11-and-under Premier Champion.

Many people think of the Queen Mary as a beloved Long Beach landmark and tourist destination, but it is also an enduring example of the craftsmanship of Scottish shipbuilding, being perhaps the most famous ship built on the River Clyde. The annual Long Beach Scottish Festival, now in its 18th year, celebrates that legacy with a weekend of Highland and country dancing, live music, historical reenactments, Scottish food and drink, children's activities and more. Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach.

Many people think of the Queen Mary as a beloved Long Beach landmark and tourist destination, but it is also an enduring example of the craftsmanship of Scottish shipbuilding, being perhaps the most famous ship built on the River Clyde. The annual Long Beach Scottish Festival, now in its 18th year, celebrates that legacy with a weekend of Highland and country dancing, live music, historical reenactments, Scottish food and drink, children's activities and more. Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach.

As the Queen Mary was being built on the shores of Scotland more than 65 years ago, it's likely that many a workman was whistling a good Scottish tune. So it's only fitting that the ship, billed as "the largest Scottish icon outside of Scotland," stages an annual festival in Long Beach celebrating its roots.

Just as everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day, everyone is a wee bit of a Scot during the Annual Scottish Festival at Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa today and Sunday. We can't all have names that begin with Mac, but don't let that stop you from attending. Robert A. Reoch, the organizer of this year's event and "Chieftain of the Games" for the last seven years, has never let it stop him.

I am writing to express my displeasure with your May 25 coverage of the Scottish festival at the Orange County Fairgrounds. I had attended the festival with my family on Saturday and at first was excited and interested to see what highlights I may have missed. The only things about the article that lived up to my expectations--or the event itself--were the placement (at the front of the Metro section) and the photographs. Apparently while capable of researching Scottish culture and history, you cannot even feign any interest in it. You apparently succeeded in finding someone to interview with almost as little interest in the proceedings as yourselves (the supposedly reluctant observer of the athletics whose faint praise was that it was better than listening to the bagpipes)

The rules are simple: Any man who wants to enter the bony knees contest will have to wear a kilt. The second annual Scottish fling will take place Saturday at Community Presbyterian Church and will feature other unusual activities, including the McPorridge relay race, which is done with spoonfuls of oatmeal. Other highlights include performances by Scottish country dancers and music by the San Clemente Scots Pipe Band.

The 3-year-old boy was too shy to talk to strangers, but when the band started playing, his inhibitions were cast off. He snapped his fingers, wiggled, and began to shuffle his feet--all to the soothing melody of Scottish bagpipes. Others were not as exuberant as the child or the bagpipers in kilts, but the smiles on the listeners' faces reflected their enjoyment of the traditional music featured at the 59th Annual Scottish Festival.

When a Fullerton College acting troupe was asked to restage a campus production of "Tracers" at this summer's world renowned Edinburgh Festival in Scotland, the cast and crew said "Absolutely!" But by mid-June, they had only six weeks to find the thousands of dollars they needed to pay for the trip. Determination prevailed. "Tracers," a wrenching collage of true stories from the Vietnam War, will take the stage in Scotland on Tuesday.

Scots Wha' Haggis: Lovers of haggis will be in luck the weekend of Feb. 14, when the fifth annual Scottish Festival takes place aboard the Queen Mary. The two-day event includes parades, country dancing and pipe band competitions, but the centerpiece for foodies will be the Address to the Haggis, 10:45 a.m. each day.

Ten-year-old Courtney Sutcliffe of Irvine has won the Western United States Regional Highland Championship trophy and prestigious City of Edinburgh Medal for her dancing at the Memorial Day Scottish Highland Games last month. She earned three first-place medals and one second place, earning her the overall trophy for the Scottish National dances and the 11-and-under Premier Champion.

Scots Wha' Haggis: Lovers of haggis will be in luck the weekend of Feb. 14, when the fifth annual Scottish Festival takes place aboard the Queen Mary. The two-day event includes parades, country dancing and pipe band competitions, but the centerpiece for foodies will be the Address to the Haggis, 10:45 a.m. each day.

I am writing to express my displeasure with your May 25 coverage of the Scottish festival at the Orange County Fairgrounds. I had attended the festival with my family on Saturday and at first was excited and interested to see what highlights I may have missed. The only things about the article that lived up to my expectations--or the event itself--were the placement (at the front of the Metro section) and the photographs. Apparently while capable of researching Scottish culture and history, you cannot even feign any interest in it. You apparently succeeded in finding someone to interview with almost as little interest in the proceedings as yourselves (the supposedly reluctant observer of the athletics whose faint praise was that it was better than listening to the bagpipes)

Robert Gallo has trouble saying the M-word. The word is mobster , and for many Ameri cans growing up in the era of Prohibition and gangland violence, it meant Al Capone. But Gallo, who portrayed Capone in a one-man play in March at the Group Repertory Theatre in North Hollywood, claims that Capone was no more evil than his contemporaries in the criminal circles of the 1920s, and should be admired for his tenacity and ambition.

Change is a constant factor for most families, which can make it difficult for a child to establish much in the way of roots. Even at family reunions, youngsters are often more interested in probing the Jell-O molds than their ancestry. With its emphasis on family history and traditions, many of them dating back 10 or more centuries, the 1992 Scottish Festival may be an effective way to give a sense of heritage to your children.

The 3-year-old boy was too shy to talk to strangers, but when the band started playing, his inhibitions were cast off. He snapped his fingers, wiggled, and began to shuffle his feet--all to the soothing melody of Scottish bagpipes. Others were not as exuberant as the child or the bagpipers in kilts, but the smiles on the listeners' faces reflected their enjoyment of the traditional music featured at the 59th Annual Scottish Festival.

Change is a constant factor for most families, which can make it difficult for a child to establish much in the way of roots. Even at family reunions, youngsters are often more interested in probing the Jell-O molds than their ancestry. With its emphasis on family history and traditions, many of them dating back 10 or more centuries, the 1992 Scottish Festival may be an effective way to give a sense of heritage to your children.

Rob Renner spread his legs, splaying his blue-and-green kilt, and squatted to hoist a telephone pole to his shoulder. Balancing it, he took a few awkward steps forward, then broke into a run and heaved it. The top of the pole landed squarely on the ground as it tumbled end-over-end. And 17 feet and 92 pounds worth of log completed a near-perfect cartwheel with a solid thud. This is sport--Scottish style.