Published: April 25, 2009 11:16 pm      

Everybody’s Scottish

The Highlands come to Bridgeport via annual festival

FAIRMONT — When was the last time you saw a man toting a telephone pole?

And when have you ever seen a man throw one?

You can this weekend at the eighth annual Scottish Festival & Celtic Gathering, when, despite the background, everybody can be Scottish for at least three days.

The festival will take place Friday through Sunday at Bridgeport City Park, behind Bridgeport High School.

Anna McMunn Watson is not only the festival chairman but also its creator.

She’d started a Scottish festival at her church, First Presbyterian in Clarksburg, 18 years ago. After it had grown, the minister looked at Watson and asked, “Wouldn’t this be fun if we did this for a whole weekend?”

And she said, “I’ll see what I can do.”

A bagpiper herself, she’d attended enough Scottish festivals to know what goes on. And she had more than enough contacts in the Scottish world to help make that happen.

“We crossed our fingers and dug in.”

The result is this festival, named one of the top 100 events in the country by the American Bus Association and one of the top 20 events in the Southeast by the Southeast Tourism Association.

There’s a good reason for this, Watson said.

An article in Parade magazine several years ago on Scottish migration to the United States identified the Appalachian Mountain chain as their primary area of settlement.

“On the cover they printed a picture of the Appalachian chain and colored in parts of each state where Scots had settled. The only state that was totally colored in was West Virginia.”

That didn’t surprise her.

“The population of West Virginia is 80 percent Celtic,” she said. “There’s a whole bunch of us here.”

She talks about these Scottish immigrants as if she were one of them.

“We came here primarily for the farming opportunities here. Many of the Scotch-Irish were farmers of the land or animal-oriented. And this area, with its rolling hills, looks like home.

“We have one piping judge ... a native Scot ... who sits on the station on top of the hill in the park. He looks around and says, ‘I feel like I’m home.’

“I think that is so cool.”

Her ancestors, the McMunns, came from the Isle of Skye, part of the Stuart side of the Stewart clan.

“There are 17 different clans, and 16 are spelled ‘Stewart.’ We’re ‘Stuart’ with an ‘ua’ — the royal clan — not ‘Stewart’ with an ‘ew,’” she’ll quickly tell you.

That’s on her father’s side. Her maternal grandfather was born in Scotland, a Coleman out of the Buchanan clan.

“So, yes, I’m Scottish,” she said with a laugh. “The funny thing is I married a Watson, which is also of the Buchanan clan. So we joked about having one-eyed children.”

(They didn’t.)

Back to this pole-tossing thing.

As every good Scotsperson knows, that pole is called a caber. And the object is to throw it, not as far as you can, but to have it fall directly away from you after landing. A perfect throw ends with the top end nearest to you and the bottom end pointing exactly away.

The festival kicks off Friday with a ceilidh, or informal party, at Via Veneto (reservations required).

The festival has everything you think of when you hear the word “Scotland”: bagpipers, clan plaids and tartans, men throwing those phone poles (called cabers) in Scottish heavy athletics, highland dancing, genealogy, harpists, as many of the 14 breeds of Scottish dogs as they can get, Shetland ponies, highland cattle (Heilan Coos) — and even (gulp) haggis.

“This is nothing like any other kind of festival you’ve been to,” Watson said.

Events begin at 8 a.m. Saturday and conclude at 5 p.m. with awards presentations and final massed bands performance.

There will be enough competitions to keep the most competitive spectator happy: First West Virginia Pipe Band Championship, sanctioned solo bagpipe competition, sanctioned amateur heavy athletics, sanctioned Highland dancing competition, sanctioned solo drumming competition.

“The big deal this year is the pipe band competition,” Watson said. “The overall winner will be crowed the first West Virginia Bagpipe champion.

“With the massed band competition, we have from 250-300 pipers and when they all come onto the field playing, it’s awesome.”

Even the dogs get into the act, with a costume and Stupid Dog Trick contests, and border collies herding sheep and even ducks (“That’s hysterical,” Watson said), and agility and rally demonstrations.

“We really do have something for everybody,” she said. “It’s great fun.”

There will be musical entertainment. Heritage craft demonstrations. Workshops, games and puppet shows for the wee lasses and laddies. Living history and military re-enactors. Harp, handbell and fiddle music.

“The Best of Scotland in Concert” begins at 8 p.m. at the high school auditorium, featuring The West Virginia Highland Dancers, Laura Risk & Paddy League, Tartanic and Highland Reign with host Colin-Grant Adams.

Sunday morning brings the grand procession of flags, banners, dignitaries and bagpipes from Harrison County Court House Plaza to the sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church at 10:35 a.m. and followed by the Kirkin’ (blessing) of the Tartans Service.

“It’s the blessing of the families. It’s full of Scottish music, scripture, documents, hymns and bagpipes playing. It’s very special.”

The festival ends with a reception at Westminster Hall at 11:45 a.m.

Her favorite part of the festival should be no surprise.

“I have to say the piping,” she said with a laugh. “I also play handbells, so I like that, too.”

You don’t have to be Scottish to enjoy the festival, she added.

“We have people without Scottish ancestry come. And some come because they know a wee bit about their background.”

If you’ve always heard your family is directly descended from old Braveheart himself, visit the genealogist booth.

“They’ll point you in the right direction to find specific ancestors. That’s a very popular exhibit.”

And of course there will be food and merchandise vendors.

“But it’s all Scottish stuff,” Watson said.

“This is great fun. Don’t miss it. It doesn’t matter what your background is. Just come to enjoy and learn about another culture.”

For a complete festival schedule and admission prices, visit www.scots-westvirginia.org/2009/09.

E-mail Debra Minor Wilson at dwilson@timeswv.com.