On any given day, the craggy mountains, shaggy, horned highland cows and imposing stone castles of Scotland are a bit out of reach at more than 3,600 miles from Blacksburg; nevertheless, every year, the Radford Highlanders Festival brings Scottish tartans, bagpipes, heavy athletics and Celtic rock music within less than 20 miles of Blacksburg.
Held annually on the second Saturday in October, the Radford Highlanders Festival comes to town. This year, it will occur this Saturday, Oct. 14 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Moffett and Heth Fields at Radford University.
The Scotch-Irish festival offers a wide variety of activities, including heavyweight athletics, a kick-off parade through downtown Radford, a twelve-Scottish-clan march, falcon and border collie demonstrations, bagpipe music, Highland dancing, craft and trinket vendors, food and Celtic rock music.
With so many activities, the crowd can be a diverse one.
?We have (the festival) family-oriented and of course, for students, but it?s for any age and any group of people,? said Bonnie Roberts Erickson, the publicity coordinator for the festival.
Approximately 11,000 people turn out for the festival each year, Erickson said, and it?s the best kind of event a college student could ask for: a whole day of activities with free admission.
Heavyweight athletics begin at 9 a.m. with competitors from the Heavyweight Athletic Circuit participating in the sheath and disk throws, as well as the caber toss, ?which is the equivalent to throwing a telephone pole across a field,? Erickson said.
The festival officially begins at 10 a.m. with the kick-off parade through downtown Radford, ending on Moffett field at RU.
Bagpipe music will pepper the festival and Highland dancing will take place on a dance stage throughout the day.
The main band of the festival will be Gaelic Storm, a Celtic rock band from Los Angeles. Gaelic Storm is also the Irish band that appeared in the movie Titanic.
They will be returning to the Radford Highlanders Festival for the second year. ?They were such a huge hit (last year) that we wanted to bring them back,? Erickson said.
In addition to Gaelic Storm, a local Roanoke band called Beggars Circus, who has performed at the festival every year will return again this year.
Vendors will be selling sweaters, wooden crafts and toys, art, jewelry, wall hangings and more.
?I usually bring Celtic tapestries, sweaters, gloves (and) jewelry, which I sell in my shop all year, but before the festival, I definitely get more in,? said Laura Lamoureux, an eighth-year vendor at the festival.
What draws Lamoureux back to the festival year after year?
?The music,? she said, ?the Scottish bagpipe music. And it?s just a fun day for family to be together, and there?s good food too.?
Food vendors, such as The House of Scotland and Sneaky Pete, offer anything from shortbread and kettle corn to Polish sausages, but no alcohol ? drinks include soda and water.
The Radford Highlanders Festival began in 1996, when a handful of Radford residents decided to put the festival together as a ?good way for a lot of the people in the New River Valley, who have Scots or Irish heritage, to get to into their roots,? Erickson said.
By now, the festival draws quite a crowd each year, including Virginia Tech English Professor, Alice LoMascolo, who said that the festival is and has to be a bit commercial.
?Beyond that, however, the spirit of the festival is authentic,? she said, ?and I was able to experience foods and objects I wouldn't any other time.?