Portland's 60th annual Highland Games draws crowd, celebrates Scottish heritage

Muscular, sweaty, kilted men and one giant log. The competition —the caber toss — was one of the most highly anticipated events at the 60th annual Portland Highland Games on Saturday, July 21, at Mt. Hood Community College.

Carmen Kessinch, 7, attended the games with a group of her cousins. They all stood pointing, ohhh-ing and ahhh-ing, while the men one by one hoisted the 19-foot, 11-inch log. The caber toss is perhaps best explained by this 7-year-old: “They have a big, ginormous log and they run with it and then they try and flip it.”

Ruby Lamb, 6, looked forward to the caber toss all day. “We’re going to see the caber toss because I haven’t seen it before,” she said, admitting she had no idea what it was but that she was excited.

The young weren’t the only ones looking forward to the event. Michael Mason, 58, said he went for the caber toss.

This year’s log was brand-new, a 150-pound Douglas fir from the Columbia River Gorge. It was not flipped once. The men swayed back and forth, sometimes dropping the caber before throwing it. “It’s probably one of the most difficult cabers I’ve seen. Period,” said Greg Bell of Seattle, a two-time winning division A champion.

Daniel McKim of Maryville, Mo., was the winner this year. He said he likes the caber toss because it’s an “awesome time with good friends.”

History

Highland games date back more than 1,000 years. The inaugural Portland Highland Games were held in the Jantzen Beach Bowl in 1952. The site moved around, eventually settling into Mt. Hood Community College in 1988.

According to the Portland Highland Games Association, the event preserves “the memories of our Scottish inheritance while serving our American community.”

This year’s games featured Highland dancing, pipe bands, a kilted mile (participants run 1 mile while wearing a kilt) and traditional food. “I love all of it,” said Josey Burns, 5.

For Jay Cole, 61, it was about the bagpipes. “Music is important to me. Bagpipes are original and authentic,” he said. Jason Whitman, 32, of Vancouver, Wash., also enjoyed the bagpipes. “I love bagpipes; they’re iconically Scotland,” he said.

Others remarked that their favorite part was dancing, whiskey and the heritage. “We’ve been coming for 15 years; it’s the people” said Erik Berg of Salem.