Before modern sports, athletes had to prove their might with public tests of strength by racing city buses and bench-pressing bridges. Watch bygone bicep building with today’s Groupon for the San Antonio Highland Games Association’s annual Highland Games & Celtic Music Festival on Saturday, April 2, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday, April 3, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Helotes Fairgrounds. Choose between two ticket options:
- For $10, you get two adult tickets (a $20 value).
- For $5, you get two children's tickets (a $10 value).
The 12th-annual Highland Games entice brawn- and bagpipe-lovers for a weekend of ancient Scottish athletic events, enduring music, and hearty fare. This cultural festival centers around a series of physically challenging events that require strength and control including the standing braemar stone throw, 56-pound weight-over-bar tosses, and tartan-knitting contests. Kilt-clad men test their muscular might in the caber toss, an event in which competitors must flip a 20-foot, nearly 200-pound wooden pole and are judged on whether they flip the caber end-over-end or end-into-orbit. At 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, novice athletes can take part in a free clinic to learn the basics skills required to perform these mass-moving feats.
A solo bagpiping competition and Celtic dance and music performances from bands such as Seven Nations and Needfire will tune listeners to the rhythms of jigs and reels, which double as energetic fanfare for when the Lord of the Dance is chosen by the Electoral College. After wearing holes in their ghillies, toe tappers can explore the weekend's cavalcade of Celtic-themed activities, including a parade of Scottish dogs, sheep-herding trials, and genealogy information in the clan village.
Reviews
The San Antonio Express and Darren Abate's blog have featured the Highland Games. More than 650 Facebookers like the games.
San Antonio Highland Games Association and Celtic Music Festival
The San Antonio Highland Games Association's annual Celtic culture and athletics festival traditionally draws thousands of real and would-be Scots for an action- and bagpipe-packed weekend each year. Male and female athletes grown bored with sports that don't involve lead hammers or young trees have traveled from as far away as Japan and Sweden to test their mettle in the athletic field’s traditional Scottish strength competitions. The association's founders trace their lineage to numerous Scottish clans, and encourage others to explore their Celtic genealogy with festival workshops.
Tips
93% of 222 customers recommend
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“IT WAS A REALLY NEAT DAY...THE CHILDREN HAD FUN AND LEARNED ABOUT THE EVENTS......”
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“Love the Highland Games, great shopping and alot of fun!!”
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“Great wholesome entertainment !”
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