2011 New Hampshire Highland Games, part one, The Games

For several years now I’ve heard about the
New Hampshire Highland Games and Loon Mountain.  This year I finally had an opportunity to attend the games and it was quite a pleasant experience for a great number of reasons.

Initially, my interest was in being at “Loon” for the sake of seeing something new.  There are exactly three Celtic festivals in my area annually and none of them is held on a mountain.  Plus, I’ve never been farther north than Rhode Island and that was many years ago.  Throw in the good company of my best friend and her husband and we’ve got a road trip to New Hampshire for three days of excellent entertainment.

 

In the weeks leading up to my departure from Dallas there was every indication that Hurricane Irene intended to cancel the Games entirely.  Every body of water in and around Lincoln, NH flooded either during the storm or in the surges that came after.  Then the main pedestrian bridge leading into the ski resort where the Games are held partially collapsed.  But the hardy New Englanders weren’t about to be bested by a hurricane; a temporary footbridge was erected and the Games were a “go”!

Waiting outside our condo for the blue shuttle bus that would take us “up the mountain”, I wondered at the state of the bridge and my natural dislike of heights and how well the two would mesh.  I needn’t have worried at all, the water had well receded by the time we got to town, the bridge was as well built as any permanent structure would have been, and the Games were simply “spitting distance” from the road.  Piece of cake.

Not so easy was knowing how to dress.  I just survived the hottest recorded summer in Texas history, so going anywhere where the daytime temperatures would be measured in two digits instead of three was almost frightening.  And I’d be up in elevations a bit.  Sweater or hoodie?  Two layers or three?  Tennis shoes or leather?  Oh, what a wonderful problem to have!!  I settled for three layers with the hoodie and tennis shoes to accommodate all that walking.

This was the first Games I’ve attended where the Friday is a full day of events.  We did an end-to-end survey of the grounds to get the lay of the land (where are the bathrooms and which ones seem least visited, what’s to offer besides the typical festival food, which tents/buildings will host the musical entertainment we want to see/hear, are there any vendors we’ve not shopped before) and to stop in for a quick peek in the “big tent” to eyeball future seating arrangements, since this would be the site of the nighttime concert featuring Rathkeltair and Brother, two bands I’ve been familiar with for years but hadn’t seen in awhile.  I had no idea how much I was going to love hearing them now.  But more on that in a bit.

We did the typical festival stroll, up and down, stop and start, and caught bits of music as we went.  We shopped and ate lunch (really tasty Shepherd’s Pie and Colcannon, which was called Rumbledethumps on the menu) and spent some time talking to people we knew.  This was pretty much the theme of the weekend with the exception of Sunday, when we split up and I took my camera for a stroll.

The Games location is perfect.  Nestled into a slight valley with mountains on all sides, it is visually stunning no matter where you look.  There are two lodges on opposite ends of the grounds that provide a snug spot to get out of the wind along with various benches, picnic tables, grassy areas and grandstands between the two.  There were ample facilities and most were clean (even after a day of full court action) including a “Port-A-Trailer” or (my name for it) “Loo-On-Wheels”!!  Food and drinks were a bit pricey, but that could also be the general economy of the area.  And, for the bold, you can even ride the gondolas to the top of the mountain.

All in all, a most enjoyable festival that I’d certainly consider revisiting in the future.

 

As for the music, I’m a bit biased, so I didn’t see all the performances provided and can’t speak for the music I didn’t hear.  But I’ve got quite a bit to say about what I did!