The city of Gatlinburg has hosted the Gatlinburg Scottish Festival & Games for the past 29 years. When the festival organizers decided to move the event to the nearby town of Maryville, TN, the city of Gatlinburg wasn’t ready to see the event leave.
The official Smoky Mountain Highland Games will hold their authentic 30th annual event at Maryville College May 20 – 22. The organizers believe the relocation of the event will be a great move since they will have a larger location, less traffic concerns and the area won’t get as muddy as the Gatlinburg area of Mills Park.
The city of Gatlinburg is not willing to let the event leave the area so they will host their own Gatlinburg Scottish Highland Games May 13 – 14 in Mills Park. The Gatlinburg organizers think that people are used to coming to Gatlinburg and they are looking forward to the 30th year of the event in Gatlinburg. The new board of directors along with the city of Gatlinburg are sure the event will be well-attended as usual. Last year the event, held in Gatlinburg, hosted about 2,700 attendees.
Both festivals will offer traditional dancers, pipe bands, ethnic food and unique athletic competitions like the caber toss and Scottish hammer throw.