PNW Highland Games 2009

PNW Highland Games 2009

As it turns out, I have a lot to learn about packing my daughter up to go anywhere more than 5 minutes away from home.  This weekend was the PNW Highland Games in Enumclaw, Washington.  We go every year. Every year we get sunburned, eat greasy food, and listen to really loud music – and complain about the unrelenting heat. This year was no different, except we brought along Uncle Timmy, and my daughter, and the stroller, and sunblock, and a cooler with ice packs to keep bottled water and her teething toys cool, and plenty of toys, and plenty of diapers, and several changes of clothes, and oh, good grief I don’t even remember what all we brought. But it wasn’t enough, even though most of the items we did bring were not used.  What we should have brought were a bunch of chairs, a canopy, and a solar powered personal air conditioning device (has anyone even invented one of these yet? if not, get on it stat!).

By far the coolest thing that happened in that 100 degree weather was the discovery of a booth selling electric bagpipes. Electric! Bagpipes! Meaning they have volume control, or you can even plug in headphones and the old man can pipe away without making a peep. But that’s not the cool part. Aaron was trying out the pipes, rocking out on a song by the Wicked Tinkers when in walked Aaron Shaw with a huge smile on his face. “Great Job!” he said when my husband stopped playing. Who is Aaron Shaw? He’s the piper for the Wicked Tinkers and he wrote the song my husband was playing.  How often does an artist get to perform a work (and perform it well) in front of the person that created it?  My husband was riding that high for the rest of the day.

I don’t have much in the way of pictures from the games – nobody tells you how much harder it is to take photographs when you’re trying to keep tabs on a little one.  I shouldn’t complain too much, I even had two helpers with me. But in lieu of photos, I will leave you with the Wicked Tinkers on Craig Ferguson. This performance focuses more on the drums for obvious reasons, but these guys are fun

Three years ago: Alibi Room

The Original Marching Bands

Part of the ritual of the Highland games is the massing of the bands.

At moment’s like these, it is not difficult to understand why the bagpipes were considered weapons of war.

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The piper in the blue and green kilt below is Tyrone. He is the Pipe Major for the Elliot Bay Pipe Band and he played at our wedding. It was at our wedding that my husband decided to start playing the bagpipes and two weeks later he was well on his way in that endeavor. Tyrone was one of his teachers.

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Once the bands march in field, they announce the winners of the days competitions and retire the colors

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then the bands turn around and march their way back off the field

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It’s a deafening, goosebumpy kind of experience.
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