FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Jeff Muir Blount Partnership (865) 983.2241 [email protected]

Jennifer Wiggins

AkinsCrisp Public Strategies

(865) 680.1457 [email protected]

Smoky Mountain Highland Games Celebrate Scottish Heritage

BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn.—Whether you want to trace your Scottish heritage, watch an athletic competition like none-other that includes a caber toss and Scottish hammer throw, enjoy Pipe and Drum music and Highland dancing, take a taste of authentic Scottish food or learn about the different types of Scotch, the Smoky Mountain Highland Games offers insight into all that is Scottish each year at its annual event.

The event, held at Maryville College, includes “Clan” tents, where people can gather to watch the competition with family or search for family names to learn about family history as it relates to the Clan.

The original Highland Games, from centuries ago, centered around athletic and sports competitions, and this tradition is still alive at today’s Highland Games. One of the best known competitions is the Caber Toss, where competitors hoist a long, tapered pine pole or log from a vertical holding position with a goal of turning it end over end with the larger end striking the ground first. Other competitions include the Scottish hammer throw, where a round metal ball is attached to the end of a four-foot shaft, and the hammer is whirled about one's head and thrown for distance over the shoulder; the stone put, similar to modern-day shot put; the weight throw; the sheaf toss, where a bundle of straw (the sheaf), wrapped in a burlap bag is tossed vertically with a pitchfork over a raised bar; and the Maide Leisg, which is a trial of strength performed by two men sitting on the ground with the soles of their feet pressing against each other, holding a stick between their toes which they pulled against each other till one of them was raised from the ground. There is also a Pipe and Drum band, individual pipers and drummers competition and a Highland Dance competition. Entertainment includes country dancing, bands, balladeers, a comedian, a dog show and competition, and Clan competitions. And, the children can enjoy the kid’s playground and athletic competitions of their own that includes a Caber Toss, Haggis Toss and the Kilted Sprint for kids ages 6-14.

The Highland Games also include an educational adventure for those interested in learning about the different types of Scotch. Visitors can take a tour of the various distillery regions of Scotland.

For more information about the Smoky Mountain Highland Games, please visit www.gsfg.org.

About Blount County, Tennessee Blount County, Tennessee is located just south of Knoxville at the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. The communities that make up Blount County—Townsend, Maryville, Alcoa, Friendsville, Louisville and Rockford – provide visitors with an abundance of outdoor activities, attractions and regular celebrations of the region’s rich Appalachian heritage and culture. Blount County is also home to the nation’s most visited national park—the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

For more information about Blount County, please contact the Smoky Mountain Tourism Development Authority at (800) 525.6834 or visit www.SmokyMountains.org. Follow the Smoky Mountain Tourism Development Authority at www.Facebook.com/PeacefulSide and Twitter.com/PeacefulSmokies.

If you are in the area, please stop in to the Smoky Mountain Visitors Center at Townsend, located at 7906 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway, or the Smoky Mountain Visitors Center at Maryville, located at 201 South Washington Street, for more information. (January 2013)

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