Grandfather Mountain Highland Games Guide

Since 1956, the second weekend of July, the meadow atop Grandfather Mountain fills with tartan for one of the largest Scottish gatherings in America — kilted athletes tossing the caber and throwing the hammer, massed pipe bands, sheepdog trials, Highland dancers, and clan tents where families trace their bloodlines back across the ocean. The setting is the whole thing: the heavy events go off with a mile-high mountain at their back and the pipes echoing off the ridges. It sounds like Scotland moved to the Blue Ridge, and for one weekend it did.

When: four days over the second weekend of July — dates move; confirm at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games site.