Highland Games - Grandfather Mountain

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Grandfather Mountain, Nature on a Whole Different Level

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Founded	Sponsoring Organization	Mission
Event Dates	Location	Special in 2010
Number of Clans Participating	Number of Clan Tents	Attendance
Distinguished Guests	Staff	Featured bagpipe bands
Featured Entertainers	Participating Nonprofit Organizations	GMHG Scholars

Founded:
1956 by Agnes MacRae Morton and former Charlotte News reporter Donald MacDonald.

Sponsoring Organization:
Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, Inc.

Mission:
GMHG is a nonprofit, non-stock corporation licensed under the laws of North Carolina to carry on and promote the annual Grandfather Mountain Highland Games and Gathering of Scottish Clans, to foster and restore interest in traditional dancing, piping, athletic achievement and Gaelic culture, and to create and establish scholarship funds to assist students from Avery County High School to study at American colleges and universities.

Event Dates: July 8-11, 2010
Always held on the second full weekend in July. The earliest the Games will occur is July 6-9 (in years when the first of July falls on a Saturday) and the latest it occurs is July 12-15 (in years when the first of July falls on a Sunday). July 7-10, 2011

Location:
US Highway 221, two miles north of Linville, NC, and one mile south of the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 305.

Special in 2010:

Number of Scottish Clans
and Societies Participating: 89

Number of Clan Tents Ringing the Field: 117

Estimated Annual Attendance: 30,000

2010 Honored Guests:

Robin Naysmith, Scottish Government Counsellor for North America

2010 Distinguished Guests:

John Alexander MacArthur, Chief of Clan MacArthur
Louisa MacKintosh Cross, representing her brother, the Chief of Clan MacKintosh
Tommy Burleson, local basketball star & celebrity
Alexander Burnett, representign his father, Chief of Clan Burnett

2010 Distinguished Author: Julia Taylor Ebel, "Orvill Hicks: Mountain Stories"

Staffing:
4 full-time employees on GMHG payroll
104 seasonal employees on GMHG payroll
6 nonprofit organizations providing support services

Nonprofit Organizations and Services Provided:

Crossnore Volunteer Fire Department: Shuttle Bus Service
Appalcart: Shuttle Bus Service
Watauga High School: Parking
Avery High School: Parking
Linville Central Rescue Squad: Parking, Concessions, First Aide Tent
Newland Volunteer Fire Department: Concessions, First Responder
Hospice of Avery: Concessions, Handicap Helpers
Avery Citizens Against Domestic Abuse: Ticket Sales, Checkers & Greeters
Kiwanis of Banner Elk: Souvenir Program Sales
Grandfather Academy: Valet Parking

Featured Highland Bagpipe Bands in 2010:

Grandfather Mountain Highlanders
Blue Ridge Brass & Pipes
Loch Norman Pipe Band
Montreat Scottish Pipes & Drums
North Carolina State University Pipes & Drums

Featured Musical Performers in 2010:

Alex Beaton (Soloist and Scotland's premier entertainer)
Ed Miller with Jill Chambless and Scooter Muse (Scottish folk)
Colin Grant Adams (Scottish Balladeer)
The Forget Me Nots (fiddle trio)
The Blessed Blend (Native American and Celtic blend)
Albannach (Glasgow, Scotland, primative Pictish drumming)
Clandestine, (Houston, TX, traditional & modern Celtic music)
Teribus (Bagpipe and drum trio playing Celtic and Tribal music)
Mother Grove ( Noblesville, IN, high energy Kilt Rock)
Brother (Tribal Celtic rock)
Celtic Connection (Celtic and Appalachian music)

Highland Games Scholars:

Joshua Aldridge - GMHG Scholar, NC State University
Ryan Aldridge - GMHG Hugh Morton Scholar, NC State University
Jennifer Mayberry - Lees McRae College
Geoffrey Werth - NC State University
Sharayah Smith - Western Carolina University
Stephanie Watson - Appalachian State University
Erin Grindstaff – Mayland Community College
Ian Murray - Appalachian State University
Courtney Henderson - Appalachian State University
April Barrier - Dental Hygiene
Hope Jennings - Pre-Med
Joshua Costner - Western Carolina University
Kate Taylor - Business/ Criminal Justice
Holly Mottern - Political Science
Dixon Wright – James Madison University
Phoebe Shoemaker – Mayland Community College/UNC Wilmington
Nate Davis – Duke University
Thomas Pittman – GMHG Hugh Morton Scholar, Mayland/Appalachian State University
Brittany Thomas – Lees McCrae College
Megan Norman – Appalachian State University
Tiffany Franckowiak – Mayland Community College

"I went to Grandfather Mountain with my boyfriend. It was absolutely amazing. After feeding the bears and venturing through one of the trails our exciting day ended with my boyfriend proposing to me on the Mile High Swinging Bridge. He even got someone to take a picture! It was a perfect end to an awesome day... and a very unique place for a proposal! We plan on trying to come back very soon. I think it is a trip everyone should take at least once! "

Brooke

Jacksonville, FL

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