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About SCOTFEST

About

OUR Story.
 OUR Mission.

Scotfest | Oklahoma is an authentic celebration of Scottish and Celtic culture. Primarily modeled after the 178 year old Lonach Gathering, Scotland and the 189 year old Braemar Gathering, Scotland.

The 100% volunteer team at Scotfest, Inc., a 501(c)3 public charity organization. With a mission to produce a celebration of Scottish and Celtic culture.

Scotfest are very proud supporters of the Northeastern State University Foundation. Providing need and merit based scholarships to students who do well in academics, leadership, community services and other areas. Additionally, Scotfest are extremely proud to support our Veterans associations. Including Folds of Honor, Soldier’s Wish, the Royal British Legion and the Scottish American Military Society. The festival is always held on the third weekend in September in the Broken Arrow Events Park. Scotfest celebrates its 43rd year in 2023.

highland & irish dance

 

culture & heritage

 

live music

 

scotfest: culture: Uniting and enriching our communities through Celtic arts, education and entertainment.

OUR VISION: SCOTFEST will be a nationally recognized, financially sustainable premier Celtic music festival and highland games. Embracing, celebrating, sharing and educating culture through artistic expression, community engagement, collaboration and leadership that intentionally integrates education and performance.

OUR CORE VALUES:  SCOTFEST believes the Celtic arts revitalize people and communities, and is dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage and its continued growth and development.

SCOTFEST encourages communities to share their cultural arts, believing that interaction with new audiences enriches the community as much as the audience. When people share aspects of their culture, opportunities are created to dissolve misunderstandings, break down stereotypes and increase respect for one another.

SCOTFEST actively cultivates a wide range of community partnerships by encouraging artistic collaboration, teamwork and volunteerism and provides access with affordable ticket prices.

SCOTFEST encourages the active participation by all ages, and in particular youth in fun, healthy and uniquely cultural physical activities that can help develop positive attributes including healthier lifestyles, self-esteem, fair play and good citizenship.

Presenting nationally known Celtic bands, Scottish World Championship athletics, National Championship Pipes & Drums, competitive Highland dance, European food & beverages, arts and crafts and fun activities for the entire family, this Oklahoma tradition is in its 42nd year and features great music on multiple stages, and thousands of your friends together at one place.

A Scottish History in

Oklahoma

It may surprise you to discover that the Scottish people have a lengthy history in Oklahoma. Deeply intertwined with the Native American people who inhabited “Indian Territory” before Oklahoma achieved statehood. Scottish immigrants had established a pattern of marrying Native American women prior to the beginning of forced Native migration. So it was not uncommon for tribal leaders to have Scottish surnames, such as McIntosh or McCurtain. As Scottish immigrants and their Native American wives moved west, many settled in what is now Oklahoma.

Scottish immigrants and Scottish-Native American men worked as trappers, explorers, soldiers, and traders in the southeast. After moving west, they began participating in mining activities, ranching, and farming. By the 1920’s, 1,120 first-generation Scottish immigrants were living in Oklahoma. While an additional 3,819 people with one or both parents born in Scotland also living in the state.

Why did Scottish men and Native American women partner so frequently?

Besides financial incentives from improving trade relationships between tribes and Europeans, they both had many things in common. Scottish Highlanders and Native Americans are both indigenous people in their homelands and have an ancestral tribal structure. Unlike the British monarchy. The Scottish Highlands provided a harsh physical environment that hardied the Scots. Much like what the Native Americans experienced in what would become the United States. Additionally, both understood the frustration and pain that comes from forced subjugation to the British.

Many of the Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw people who came to Oklahoma had Scots and Scots-Irish ancestry. Later some tribe members married Scottish immigrants who were seeking land in Oklahoma Territory. As a result, Scottish place-names that dot the state include Afton, Glencoe, and McIntosh County. Although some Scottish men did later leave their Native wives to return back across the Atlantic. Many stayed and continued to raise their children in mixed Scottish-Native homes.

Just how intertwined were the Scottish and the Native Americans?

In 1964, the principal chief of the Creek Nation of Oklahoma, who had the last name “McIntosh,” wore full Native regalia. Including a headdress, beaded shirt, and moccasins, to the annual gathering of his clan in the Scottish Highlands. Standing there amongst the Scots dressed in kilts, sporrans, and dirks. He talked about his pride in his dual Creek-Scottish ancestry and the intertwining of the two cultures.

Pic: Chinnubie McIntosh (late 1990’s)

Creek Indian Nation

State of Oklahoma

City of Tulsa

Oklahoma State University

Cherokee Nation

Commemorating this ancestry, Oklahoma has multiple tartans registered with the Scottish Tartans Society. The Creek Indian Nation tartan was designed in 1973 by Chief Dode MacKintosh. The City of Tulsa tartan was designed in 1978. The Cherokee tartan was recorded in 1996. The official State of Oklahoma tartan was accepted in 1999. The Oklahoma State University tartan was entered in 1998. The newest tartan to Oklahoma, The City of Broken Arrow, was design by Scotfest and introduced in 2023. In 2000, 52,030 Oklahoman’s claimed Scottish ancestry and 58,798 claimed Scots-Irish ancestry. As of the 2010 Census the number of Scottish ancestry had increased to over 67,500.

With a name like Scotfest, you’d expect that Green Country’s flagship Scottish festival is strongly tied to Scottish traditions and culture, and you’d be right!

Learn all about Scotfest. Whether you’ve got Scottish and Celtic history going back generations or you’re simply interested in experiencing something new. Scotfest is the place you’ll want to be in September. Each year, we come up with new creative ideas to make you feel like you’re in the heart of the Scottish highlands while your feet are on the ground in northeast Oklahoma. Here’s some of what you’ll find when you come to Scotfest.

Scottish Culture

As we say at Scotfest: “In March you’re Irish, in Oktober you’re German, in September you’re Scottish!” You don’t have to be Scottish to enjoy the delicious tastes and exciting sights and sounds of Scotfest. Scotfest is designed to provide exposure to Scottish and Celtic culture. Through the inclusion of as many elements of Scottish heritage as possible, including the opportunity to try traditional Scottish food like haggis, scotch eggs, and Scottish meat pies.

While you fill your belly, you’ll be enjoying the sights and sounds of piping corps and drummers practicing throughout the day. Piping and drumming aren’t the only competitions you’ll find, though!

As part of Scotfest’s Highland Games, we host national and world championship events. Each year in homage to the highland games of old, where kings would hold competitions to select the finest athletes for his personal guard and entourage. The games played in the original highland games are still enjoyed today, including the caber toss, hammer throw, stone throw, and weight for distance. You don’t have to be Scottish to compete in and enjoy these events, but you do have to be strong! Scotfest also hosts a social rugby tournament, soccer tournament, the Hurling in the Heartland tournament throughout the weekend.

Once you’re done cheering your favorite athletes to victory, head over to enjoy the competitive Scottish Highland Dance competitions. Both individuals and teams will dance to Scottish music, including Strathspeys, reels, hornpipes, jigs, and of course, bagpipes. With only four to six steps per dance, you might even be able to learn one and join along!

Live Music

Modern Scotrock and Celtic music is on display throughout the day. You’ll really love rocking out at night to the sounds of international performing acts like, Celtica Pipes Rock and Jamie McGeechan, national performers like Wicked Tinkers, Seven Nations, and regional performers like Tullamore, Flowers of Edinburgh, Cleghorn and more! Most bands play several times throughout the weekend, so if you can’t catch them on your first day at the festival, make sure to come back.

Throughout the weekend, you’ll also be able to explore your connection to Scotland by researching your family name. Each year, dozens of Scottish clans attend Scotfest to share their clan history, help you research your heritage, explain family crests, show off the clan tartan, and more. Scottish clans originally formed from all of the people who lived within a chief’s territory.  Those who proclaimed allegiance to the chief. Over time, as boundaries and leadership changed, clans began to diversify and included people from many different surnames. People who swore allegiance to a certain chief could also become a member of the clan. So whether you’re fresh off the boat from Scotland, aren’t totally sure about your heritage, or don’t have a drop of Scottish blood, you can still find a clan to call your very own at Scotfest.

Strong Ties Between Scotland and the U.S.

One of the main missions of Scotfest is to strengthen ties between Scotland and the United States. It’s no secret that many people in the United States have Scottish and Celtic ancestry. In fact, it is estimated that about 8.3 percent of the total US population is of Scottish descent, while about 10 percent of the population is of Scottish-Irish descent, a total of about 40 million people! By helping those with Scottish heritage, whether long-known or recently discovered, connect with their ancestral home. We help to foster strong ties between Scotland and the United States. Scotfest improves cultural awareness and enhances understanding of Scottish and Celtic culture. They say that the best way to understand someone is to take a walk in their shoes. We think there’s no substitute for wearing their kilt.

WE aRE SCOTFEST