By By Thomas Tingle
Record Managing Editor
The city of Madison will be inundated with plaid skirts and the sounds of bagpipes will fill the air over Dublin Park as the 14th annual North Alabama Scottish Festival and Highland Games will be held this weekend.
The weekend of events will begin with a patron's reception Friday night and will end with a special "Kirkin' o' the Tartans" at First Presbyterian Church in Huntsville Sunday morning.
The gates will open at 9 a.m. to the general public and activities will begin. They include men's Scottish athletic competitions, heritage presentations, Stan Moore's border collies herding sheep and geese, Highland and Scottish country dance performances and lots of music.
If music is your thing, Colin-Grant Adams, along with The Hooly, Flora Gammon McDonald and Good Fortune will perform featured entertainment on Saturday.
The Birmingham Society of Celtic Arts will perform on the dance stage as well as the Scottish Country Dancers. At 11:30 a.m., the official opening ceremonies will include the parade of Tartans, massed bands and a presentation of honored clan.
The honored clan this year will be the Alabama Celtic Association. The association is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Celtic heritage. In addition to the association, there will be more than 20 clans and societies represented. Representatives from the Odum Library from Georgia and the LDS Genealogy Association will be on site to help in tracing Scottish roots.
There will be plenty of food to eat, a variety of vendors and children's activities available.
At 4 p.m. Saturday, there will be a special closing ceremony and a presentation of athletic awards.
On Sunday, First Presbyterian Church in Huntsville will host the Kirkin' o' the Tartans.
Admission is $6 for adults and $3 for children ages 3 to 12. Dublin Park is located on Old Madison Pike.
This is the second year that the Scottish Festival and Highland Games has been held in Madison. The city of Madison became the official host for the annual event in 2001.
Public parking will be available at Bob Jones High School with free bus service provided to Dublin Park.