The Clan MacFarlane Society, Australia Inc.

The Ringwood Highland Games will be held this year at the East Ringwood Reserve, corner  Mount Dandenong and Dublin Roads, East Ringwood on 30th March from 9am to 4.45pm.

Various activities and displays are on during the day and these include: Highland Dancing Competitions, Dog’s Flyball Competition, Fencing display, “Light” Heavy Games, Haggis Hurling and Welly Boot Throwing fun events, Massed Pipe Bands, Grand March of the Clans,  Scottish Martial Arts/Sword Play, Farmyard Animals.  Scottish Clans and Societies will also have display tents, and there will also be tents selling Scottish goods such as food, music, clothing, books and gifts.

For further information please visit:

http://www.ringwoodhighlandgames.com.au

After the mists have risen at dawn, the town of Bundanoon becomes Brigadoon for a day (even the name on the station changes to Brigadoon!)

The main street is closed and there is a bustle of activity as people prepare for the big parade which begins at 9.30am. Visitors from all over Australia are making their way to Brigadoon (over 10,000 of them).  Thousands line the streets as hundreds of pipes and drums (over 20 bands in all), colourful floats and displays, marchers, vintage cars, and service and community vehicles make their way to the grounds for the games. After the bands have arrived, the first of the massed band displays for the day takes place.  With carefully manouevred patterns of marchers, the flourishes of the drum majors, and the heavenly sound of the pipes receding, advancing, and reverberating around the glen, you don’t need to be Scottish to feel the thrill of the occasion.

The gathering is officially opened at 10.30 a.m. and is followed by a  massed demonstration of Scottish Country Dancing. If you’ve never attempted Scottish Country Dancing before, this is your chance as the display ends in the “Dashing White Sergeant” and the audience is invited to join in! There are other displays of Country Dancing during the day, and also of Highland Dancing.

Part of the fun of the day comes from watching, or preferably participating in, the various Highland Games and other activities, such as the Bonnie Bairns Highland Dress Competition, the Hay Toss, and the Kilted Dash. Throughout the day in the main arena there are pipe band displays. Up to 600 pipers and drummers typically attend Brigadoon, and although bands do not compete against each other, the pipe band display offers them the opportunity to engage in some virtuoso performances of their favourite marches, lilts and airs.

The sun has lowered in the western sky, the clock moves towards 4.00 p.m., and our day at Brigadoon is drawing to a close. In the final ceremonies the pipes and drums reappear for the Final Massed Bands Display and inspection by the Chieftain of the Day. After the official Closing Ceremony the crowd falls silent for the Lone Piper. Another year – another day at Brigadoon – has come to an end, and the crowd leaves in the gloaming with full hearts and their ears still ringing with the haunting sounds of the bagpipe.  In the evening visitors to Brigadoon and participants gather at the local hall for the Ceilidh – a traditional Highlands knees-up where the haggis holds pride of place.

And then the mist descends, and the mythical village of Brigadoon falls under a spell, to sleep again until next year.

Information extracted from the following website – please click through for further details:

http://www.brigadoon.net.au

Maclean is a rural township nestled along the banks and hills of the beautiful Clarence river, on the North Coast of New South Wales. It is a very friendly town, proud of its Scottish Heritage.

On the Easter weekend, 18th-19th April this year, Maclean’s population of 3,254 will once again  swell to around 6,500 as people flock to the town to attend the annual Highland Games held at the Maclean Showgrounds.

For further information please visit:

http://www.macleanhighlandgathering.com.au

The Australian Celtic Festival is held on the first weekend in May at the Australian Standing Stones, overlooking the rural township of Glen Innes, in the beautiful New England Tablelands of New South Wales.

Spread over 4 days, highlights include music and dance at multiple stages and venues, displays and workshops, storytelling and poetry, clan gatherings, a huge parade through Glen Innes’ heritage main street, Highland Games, living history displays, massed bands, traditional kirking of the tartans, Celtic yard dog trials, fun run and walk, Celtic stalls, food and more.

For further information please visit:

http://www.australiancelticfestival.com