This is the famous Celtic Classic Highland Games & Festival. (https://celticfest.org/) A historic event held for nearly 40 years in Historic Downtown Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the Celtic Classic has grown into one of the largest free Celtic festivals in North America, drawing over 200,000 visitors annually.

Founded in 1988 on Columbus Day weekend by a small group of dedicated individuals, the event was built around a simple but powerful goal: to create a celebration that symbolized the Celtic spirit and history, and to anchor an organization committed to promoting Celtic culture. The Valley Ledger That organization is now the Celtic Cultural Alliance (CCA), a 501(c)(3) non-profit with year-round programming spanning arts, music, literature, dance, and heritage education.

On the athletics side, the Celtic Classic is home to the U.S. National Highland Games Championship. Only the top 10 point earners in the country qualify to compete making it one of the most prestigious professional Highland Games competitions in North America. Traditional athletic competitions include the caber toss, hammer throw, and other classic tests of strength and skill.

Beyond the heavy events, the festival features five stages of continuous entertainment, a diverse marketplace of authentic Celtic merchandise, pipe band competitions, Irish dance performances, cultural heritage programming, and musical workshops Lehigh Valley — all free to the public.

NASGA Legends Masters National Championships: Where Highland Games Experience Meets Its Finest Hour

There's a certain kind of athlete that doesn't peak in their twenties. They peak at fifty. Or sixty. Or seventy-plus. If you want proof, look no further than the NASGA Legends Masters National Championships — the premier masters-level Highland Games competition in North America.

Organized under the banner of NASGA (North American Scottish Games Athletics) and run by a legend himself Kerry Overfelt, the Legends is the national championship event specifically for masters athletes across a wide range of age classes, from the 40-44 division all the way through 70 and beyond. Men and women compete separately across both open and lightweight divisions, ensuring that athletes of every build and background have a place at the line.

The format is straightforward in the best possible way: come throw. The nine traditional Highland Games heavy events — including the caber toss, weight for distance, hammer, stone put, and sheaf toss — serve as the proving ground. What makes the Legends special isn't the format, though. It's the field. These are athletes who have spent years, sometimes decades, refining their technique, building their knowledge of the events, and competing at games across the continent. The mastery on display is genuinely earned.

Masters Highland Games competition is one of the sport's best-kept secrets. The community is tight-knit, deeply passionate, and remarkably inclusive. Athletes who might be grandparents by morning are throwing the caber by afternoon — and doing it with the kind of precision that comes only from experience. The Legends National Championship celebrates exactly that: the idea that strength, skill, and competitive fire don't have an expiration date.

For athletes looking to test themselves against the best masters competitors in North America, the Legends is the benchmark. For spectators, it's an inspiring reminder of what a life lived in the sport looks like.

Clan Bacon: The Heart Behind the Women's Lightweight National Championship

Not every organization in the Highland Games world has a motto in Gaelic that translates to "Tasty Meat Candy." But then again, not every organization is Clan Bacon — and that's exactly what makes them special.

Founded on February 27, 2012 in a Best Western motel in El Paso, Texas, after a few too many Shiner Bocks, Clan Bacon was built on a simple premise: if you love throwing heavy things and you love bacon, you belong here. clanbacon What started as a spirited celebration of Highland Games culture and cured pork products has grown into one of the most recognized and genuinely beloved organizations in the sport.

At the center of Clan Bacon's athletic mission is the Women's Lightweight North American Championship — now entering its 10th annual edition clanbacon, the championship has become the premier stage for the best lightweight women's Highland Games athletes in North America. The event is an invitational for the top 10 ranked lightweight women, who gather to compete across all nine Scottish heavy events for the title of national champion. GuideStar It is a field of record holders, veterans, and rising stars — and Clan Bacon has been building and stewarding that stage since the beginning.

Clan Bacon also maintains the world records for the Women's Lightweight Highland Games class, as well as records for the Women's Lightweight North American Highland Games Championship — making them not just an event host, but the official keepers of the division's history and standards.

The Men's U.S. Lightweight National Championship is one of Highland Games' most exciting and underappreciated divisions — a class defined by speed, technique, and elite athleticism within a strict weight limit. Starting in 2025, Scottish Athletics International (SAI) stepped up to give it the championship infrastructure it deserves.

Beginning in 2025, SAI took over coordination of the Men's U.S. Lightweight Nationals, bringing to the lightweight class the same organizational experience it has developed through its stewardship of the Masters World Championships. Scottish Athletics Int The goal is straightforward and ambitious: elevate the profile of the lightweight division and give its athletes a genuine national championship stage worthy of their talent.

Central to that vision is the Steward model — festival games that host the national championship and carry the event's prestige into their communities. SAI currently has two confirmed Stewards: the Dublin Irish Festival, which hosted in 2025, and the Salt Lake City Highland Games, which takes the stage in 2026. Scottishathleticsint These aren't just venue assignments. Steward games are partners in growing the championship, bringing their audiences, their infrastructure, and their local Highland Games communities into the national conversation around lightweight athletics.

SAI's long-term goal is to expand to at least three Steward festivals, allowing the championship to rotate annually and reach athletes and fans in different regions of the country. Scottishathleticsint More Stewards means more access, more exposure, and more opportunities for the lightweight class to build the kind of national following it's long deserved.

On the rankings side, a refresh of the NASGA website, nasgascores.com, will serve as the source for scores and therefore the basis for national championship invitations starting in 2027.

For lightweight athletes across the country, this is a significant moment. A dedicated governing body, transparent rankings, established championship venues, and a clear pathway to competition — the Men's U.S. Lightweight Nationals is no longer just an event. Under SAI, it's becoming a true national championship program.

The East Coast Women's Highland Games Championship Is Here — And It's Going to Be a Great One

Let's talk about one of the most exciting things happening in the Highland Games world right now — the East Coast Women's Highland Games Championship. If you're not already buzzing about this, you should be.

So, How Do You Even Get Into This Thing?

Great question. This isn't the kind of event where you just sign up and show up. These athletes qualified by winning a game east of the Mississippi River in 2025 and then being the highest ranked of all qualified champions. Read that again — these women won a game. Not placed. Not podiumed. Won.

And then, on top of that, they had to rank out above the other champions to make the field. So yeah — the bar is high, and the women clearing it are absolutely the real deal.

Why This Championship Hits Different

There's something about a field full of game champions that just changes the energy. Nobody in this lineup is happy finishing second. They've all stood at the top before, and they're coming here to do it again.

From the hammer to the caber, every event is going to be a battle. These are athletes who've trained all season, traveled to compete, and already proven they can deliver when the pressure is on. Now they're all in the same place at the same time. It's going to be a blast.

The East Coast Scene is Thriving

Games east of the Mississippi span an enormous and incredibly diverse territory — from the Green Mountains of Vermont down to the Gulf Coast, and everywhere in between. The Highland Games community across that whole region has been growing, the competition has been getting tougher, and this championship is a direct reflection of that. The women who clawed their way to the top of that field deserve a stage worth their effort, and this is it.

Come Be Part of It

Honestly, if you've never watched women's Highland Games up close, this is your event to start with. The athleticism is incredible, the atmosphere is welcoming, and the community that shows up for these things is just genuinely good people who love the sport.

Bring a chair, bring some friends, and come cheer loud. These champions have earned it.

This year’s games was held at the Northern Alabama Scottish festival and Highland games on March 14th.

Scottish Highland Games

The West Coast Highland Championship

Where the sky islands meet the caber

Launched in 2025 by the Scottish Amateur Athletic Association (SAAA), the West Coast Highland Championship represents a bold new chapter in amateur Highland athletics. A worthy counterpart to the storied East Coast Championship run by Danny Webster of the Backyard Rebellion

The games were founded with a clear purpose: to give serious amateur athletes a high-stakes, high-profile stage on which to prove themselves at the national level. Whether you're a rising competitor or a seasoned thrower looking to plant your flag, the West Coast Championship is where reputations are made.

"A tradition has been established. Men's and women's champions each take home a championship belt along with the bragging rights to match."

From its very first year, the games established a signature tradition: the presentation of championship belts to the men's and women's overall champions. More than a trophy, the belt is a symbol. Earned, and defended year after year.

Flagstaff, Arizona : a sky island setting

Flagstaff is a "sky island" in the truest sense: perched at roughly 7,000 feet on the slopes of the San Francisco Peaks, it rises dramatically out of northern Arizona's hot, arid desert. The result is a cooler, wetter climate supporting dense ponderosa pine forests and alpine ecosystems that feel worlds removed from the landscape below. It is, simply put, a stunning place to throw heavy things.

The contrast between the championship's raw athletic spirit and the breathtaking natural backdrop of the Peaks makes for an experience that's hard to replicate anywhere else on the circuit. The elevation adds an extra edge both to the scenery and, arguably, to the competition.

As the West Coast Championship grows, it's poised to become one of the signature events on the SAAA calendar. A proving ground for the next generation of Highland Games champions.