An exploration of Highland and Celtic culture will return to Croydon next month with a festival celebrated by people journeying from far and wide.
The Melbourne Highland Games and Celtic Festival has hosted this event in Melbourne for over 50 years. It is one of the highlights of the Scottish Australian calendar and is considered the number one multicultural festival in the City of Maroondah and greater Melbourne.
This day-long celebration of Scottish/Celtic culture and heritage, held annually at Eastfield Park, Eastfield Road in Croydon, echoes the original games that took place centuries ago in Scotland during the reign of King Malcolm III.
This multicultural inclusive event that showcases wonderful music and competitions in dancing and pipe bands and world-class athletic competitions is a must-see outing for everyone.
This year’s event on Sunday 23 March will be the first truly international Games, in partnership with Events Victoria, the International Highland Games Federation (IHGF) and hosted by Australia’s Highland Muscle bringing up to 60 athletes and officials from Australia, North America, United Kingdom, Europe and Japan to compete in a traditional Scottish Heavy Games Competition.
Another addition to this grassroots event will be in the Opening Ceremony with a Traditional “Scottish Clan Role Call” and a Welcome to Country by a Wurundjeri Elder followed by the Smoking Ceremony drawing strength from the land for our Scots, warriors, spectators and indigenous peoples in attendance.
Making this an amazing event, not to be missed, showcasing the best of Scottish/Celtic Culture and Heritage, providing a history of the Clan’s family-based values and the diversity of Australian society.
The Festival is supported by locals and travellers from all over Australia and the world, with International athletes and their entourage attending to compete in the IHGF Championship Competition in the World Hammer Throwing and World Weight for Distance Championships, sponsored by and including the Australian contingent of the Highland Muscle Organisation whose members come from all over Australia.
With an expected 7000 attendees the festival plays a pivotal role in preserving Scottish and Celtic traditions among the Victorian diaspora and fostering connections to ancestral roots for younger generations.
After nearly 60 consecutive years of staging these Games, the festival organisers are very excited about this year which will be a truly international event.
It will include, for the first time an international film crew targeting overseas audiences. The film crew will be here for the week leading up to the Games filming Maroondah, the Yarra Valley, the surrounding districts and places of interest.
The Festival brings together people from all walks of life including Patron Mr Simon Abney Hastings, the Right Honourable 15th Earl of Loudoun, Ambassador the honourable Mr Ted Baillieu AO, Chieftain of the Day Carol Davis, Victorian Scottish Heritage Cultural Foundation CEO and President of Clan MacLennan, and many other dignitaries alongside the number of dedicated volunteers who work tirelessly all year long with significant sponsors like the Bendigo Bank, to present the best day out for all.
Tickets are available on the day or pre-purchase online: trybooking.com/events/landing/1339000
For further information, see: melbournehighlandgames.org.au/whats-on/
