Second Highland Games are a hit

Games draw a good crowd and good comments say organizers.

“If you can say, It’s a braw bricht moonlicht nicht yer a’richt ye ken.You could have practiced your use of the ol’ guttural uvular fricative from the classic Sir Harry Lauder song A Wee Deoch-an-Doris all day Saturday in Greenbank without raising an eyebrow. Or should that be aye brow?That’s because the second annual Scottish Highland Games returned to the Greenbank Farm for a day filled with pipers, dancers, kilts, caber tossers and clans.It went very well, said Mary Chapman, a member of the Whidbey Island Celtic Society which organized the games. We had a real good turnout and we had nothing but good comments.Last year the games attracted a crowd of about 3,500. This year Chapman said she thinks more people turned out.I haven’t seen the final gate count but by noon we had about 2,500 and we had a lot more people come in after that, she said. We had more vendors, more food vendors and more clan tents.That was despite the fact that early Saturday morning the Mukilteo-Clinton ferry Cathlamet dropped out of service with mechanical problems, leaving only one boat on the run until late afternoon and leading to ferry waits on the mainland of more than two hours.I know a lot of people wanted to come but didn’t get here, said Chapman. She said that because of the ferry delays, one of the scheduled bands failed to get all of its members to the games in time for competition.But there was no shortage of bagpipers. Chapman, a piper herself, said Saturday’s weather was nearly perfect for playing. She said bagpipe playing requires considerable physical exertion, so Whidbey’s moderate temperatures and Greenbank’s reliable breezes made the event a pleasure. Everyone loves to come to this one because it gives them a chance to come to the island, said Chapman. She said the Greenbank Farm is an ideal location with room to grow. We’re looking forward to next year. It’ll be bigger and better. “