Mountain State Scottish and Celtic Gathering

Doddridge County Park

West Union, West Virginia

May 29, 2021

10:00am to 5:00pm

The Mountain State Scottish and Celtic Gathering begins it's first year, this month, May 2021, as West Virginia's newest Celtic festival. Hoping it will become an annual event on West Virginia's calendar, the organizers are committed to a five year plan. Funding is being provided through the Doddridge County Planning Commission.

Taking place on the spacious 250 plus acreage of Doddridge County Park in West Union, there will be plenty of room for participating clans and events. To avoid conflicting activities of the busy Memorial Day weekend, the late May date of Saturday, the 29th, will be moved back a week for next year's gathering.

Events during the gathering, which will celebrate Scottish and Celtic culture, will include athletic or sporting competitions known as heavy events or, more typically, the Highland games. The games are thought to have originated from the time when the strongest and bravest soldiers in Scotland were tested.

Part of the gathering's entertainment will be provided by the Jack Dunlap Band, a bluegrass group out of Winchester, Virginia. Jack plays the guitar and mandolin and has worked with Ricky Skaggs, among other musicians. During the isolation of the Covid pandemic, he recorded an album that included original tunes along with traditional folk songs. Coming to the gathering with a new album in the works, the band will capture the attention of all bluegrass fans, young and old alike.

The West Virginia Highlanders, of Davis and Elkins College, in Elkins, will also be performing during the gathering. Beginning as the official band of the H.W. Daniels Post 29 American Legion, in 1947, they became affiliated with Davis and Elkins College, in 1990. Wearing the McLeod of Lewis tartan, they have performed in all fifty states and Washington, D.C.

West Virginia Highlanders

No lively Cèilidh is scheduled for the gathering, but the West Virginia Highland Dancers will be entertaining with their spirited dance routines. Based in Elkins, they are a competitive Scottish Highland dance group.

Nil Na La West Virginia Highland Dancers

Various Scottish clans, displaying and passing along information about their Celtic roots, will be present during the day long event. For this first year, no entrance fee will be expected from the clans, but a donation box will be present for contributions. A hospitality tent stocked with food and drinks, catered by the Brickside Bar and Grill of Bridgeport, will be provided for the participating clans. Clan MacAulay will be among the clans represented at the gathering, along with Clan Bell, Clan Ferguson, Clan Douglas, Clan McCullough and Clan MacDougall.

Mountain State Scottish and Celtic Gathering

Doddridge County Park

West Union, West Virginia

May 29, 2021

10:00am to 5:00pm

Location of West Union, Doddridge County

Follow the Northern Panhandle from Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall to Wetzell,

and there it is - Doddridge County dressed in yellow!

Clan MacAulay International Gathering

A Clan MacAulay International Gathering is held every two years. Usually occurring in odd years, the 2021 gathering has been cancelled because of Covid Virus concerns. The clan gathering has been rescheduled for August, 2022. All MacAulays, Scottish and Irish, regardless of how their name is spelled, are invited to attend and enjoy the company of their Celtic kin.

When Clan MacAulay gathers our people together, they celebrate their kinship with a clan banquet and piping in the haggis.

Robert Burns Address to a Haggis

https://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/robertburns/works/address_to_a_haggis/

Blessing of the Haggis

Another bit of merrymaking during the MacAulay gathering is the sociable ceilidh. With dancing, fellowship and entertainment, the ceilidh promises an enjoyable evening for travelers attending the event from around the world.

ceilidh [ key-lee ]

noun Irish, Scot., and Canadian (chiefly Prince Edward Island)

a party, gathering, or the like, at which dancing, singing, and storytelling are the usual forms of entertainment.

Pronunciation of ceilidh (vocal)

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ceilidh

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/pronunciation/english/ceilidh

Tours of local places of interest is an educational feature of the three day celebration of MacAulay Scottish heritage. Visits to important MacAulay landmarks, as well as local attractions, inform the Clan of the surrounding landscape and the history that took place there.