Scotfest 2023 If you ask the members of the Scotfest team what their favorite part of the festival is, most of them will have similar answers: It’s seeing people enjoying themselves during the event. It’s that final show in the Scotrock tent Sunday evening when everyone jumps up on the tables to dance. Because in that moment they know all their hard work has paid off; it was all worth it. Seeing kids up on the stage with the bands, hearing groups of friends laughing over a beer, it’s all finally come together and all that work leading up to it has brought us to that major defining moment of: this is it. This is Scotfest.
But if you ask me, my favorite part comes days before that. It’s seeing that large tent up in place, standing tall and ready. It’s getting texts on my phone from coworkers who drove by and snapped a photo of the grounds asking how the set up is coming along. It’s seeing the workers and volunteers hanging up signs. It’s news and radio stations talking about the upcoming event in Broken Arrow. It’s hearing the Scotfest team making final to-do lists in those few short days while the clock is counting down to when the gates will open on Friday night. It’s the food trucks driving in and the vendors setting up their merchandise. It’s the last minute scramble, the behind the scenes that very few have the privilege of witnessing.
I used to joke with friends and family that I have the perfect gig when it comes to Scotfest. I once got to just show up with my camera and enjoy the festival while doing something I love. But as the years have gone on, as I’ve become more involved, it’s impossible for me to simply show up and do nothing more than snap a few photos.
Many don’t realize that not a single member of the Scotfest team is ever paid. We’re all volunteers. We do this year after year because we love Scotfest. After all the blood, sweat, and tears, after seeing negative comments on social media, after dealing with the politics behind the scenes, we still come back. Each year we come back and strive to do better, to be better.
To this day I joke with my friends that every year I have at least one emotional breakdown during Scotfest. The pressure I put on myself, the heat, the exhaustion, it hits hard and I hide away for a few minutes to cry it out where no one can see me and then I pull myself together and get back out there. Because that’s what we do. We pull ourselves together for the event because Scotfest is what’s important. Each of us has a “real world” job that pays. We have our personal lives, personal struggles, but we put those issues aside and push forward to make sure that an event we are all passionate about will continue. The show must go on.
My favorite part of the event isn’t the final moments of dancing on tables. My favorite moment isn’t when the gates open and people come flooding in. My favorite moment isn’t the drinking contests or the armored knights or even the Highland games. My favorite moment is the day before, standing inside that large, empty tent with nothing but the grass and a stage, while people are working hard to set up tables and chairs and bars and sound systems. Because in that moment the possibilities are endless. There’s a promise in those quiet, yet anxious moments. A promise that Scotfest is going to go on. Scotfest is going to happen. It doesn’t matter the stress I’m under at work. It doesn’t matter what notifications are on my phone. It doesn’t matter that my car tires need to be checked or the chores at home aren’t done. Because that tent is up. The front gate is standing strong. The air is filled with anticipation. I know that soon those festival grounds will be crowded with people who have looked forward to this event all year long, just as I have. Soon bagpipes will drown out the silence. Soon kids will be running around with toy swords and shields. Soon you’ll hear the metallic banging of the blacksmiths. Soon you’ll hear the cheering of people welcoming the bands on stage. Soon the beer will be poured and the bagpipes will play. Because Scotfest is here.
That is my favorite moment. The moment I stand in the calm before the storm and imagine all the possibilities that Scotfest 2023 will bring.
