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Clan Currie To Debut at 2004 Inverness Highland Games The Clan Currie Society has announced they will attend yet another event in Scotland for the summer of 2004 - the City of Inverness Highland Games on Saturday, July 24. Alan Currie, Clan Convener for Scotland will host the Society's information booth. Inverness marks the second of three gatherings in Scotland that Clan Currie will participate in. The Society previously participated in the Bathgate Highland Games on May 29 and will return to the Bute Highland Games on August 21. The Inverness Highland Games are some the best attended in the North of Scotland. With crowds of between 4000-6000 enjoying a major traditional Highland event that has something for everybody. The highlight of the day is the ever-popular 'Tossing of the Caber'. The 16 foot plus caber weighs more than a man and it is a feat of enormous skill as well as extraordinary strength to hurl the caber so it turns over and lands in the required 12 o'clock position. However, for many athletes the most enjoyable event of the day is the 'Great Putt of the Inverness Stone'. Weighing some 10kg (22lbs.), it is it's awkward size and shape, rather than it's weight that creates a lighthearted finale to the day. The rules dictate that all athletes taking part must wear the traditional kilt which, rather than a sporran, is accompanied by a weight belt in today's Games. It is often said that records were meant to be broken at the Inverness Games and it is a fact that Bught Park Stadium has seen some wonderful moments over the years.
Most of the credit for that must go to the dedicated athletes, dancers and performers who have spent years perfecting their skills in these wonderful Highland events and the families, coaches, judges and club organizers who have supported them along the way. However some of the credit must go to the enthusiastic Inverness spectators who certainly know how to support their favorites.
The Inverness Games has a tradition of trying to include something new every year and has now grown to include Piping Competitions, Dancing Competitions, Cycling Competitions, a Highland Craft Fair, a Children's Fun Fair, Tug of War, and a Massed Pipe Band. Thanks to the piping competitions there is music throughout the day. In addition to the pipes, the Pipe Band responsible for making the arrival of the Lord Provost of Inverness (who acts as Chieftain of the Games) will also be performing vigorously throughout the afternoon. The Clan Currie Society, a NJ-based, international, non-profit cultural and educational organization, is active in preserving and promoting highland heritage at Scottish Games, ethnic festivals, as well as community groups and classrooms. The Society has over 2,000 members worldwide. In Scotland, Clan Currie was the Honoured Guest at the 2003 Bute Highland Games and 2001 Blairgowrie Games. Clan Currie has also participated in gatherings in Glenfinnan, Crieff, and the Brodick Highland Games on the Isle of Arran. The organization started as a family name society in Glasgow, Scotland in 1959 to further the knowledge and appreciation of the MacMhuirich bardic dynasty. The MacMhuirichs served for over 700 years as professional poets to the Lords of the Isles and later to the MacDonalds of Clanranald. The Red Book of Clanranald, one of Gaelic Scotland's literary treasures, was penned by successive generations of the MacMhuirich family.
Today, the organization is a leading American-based foundation that focuses on celebrating the Scots-Gaelic origins of the Currie name as well as producing outstanding programs and events to honor Scotland's rich culture and ancestry. The Clan Currie Society also produces the annual National Tartan Day celebration at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. The Society also produces a number of highly successful concerts featuring Scottish music and Gaelic poetry readings. Clan Currie is now venturing into the field of documentary film making with a concentration on Scottish themes. The Society's first production, "The Crafter's Song" had its World Premiere at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum in April of 2004. Clansfolk from far and wide are cordially invited to rally with Clan
Currie at the Inverness Highland Games. For further information, visit
their website at www.invernesshighlandgames.com.
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