Minnesota Scottish Fair and Highland Games

Break out your kilts and bagpipes, it's time for the Minnesota Scottish Fair and Highland Games, a mingling of the Scottish arts, food, and extreme sports. For athletes of Olympian strength, the grueling competitions include: the caber toss, in which competitors hoist a 16-foot log and attempt to toss it; stone put, a much more punishing version of shot put that has competitors toss a 22-pound stone; and the sheaf toss, wherein participants use pitchforks to hurl heavy bags over a certain height. Visitors not so testosterone-driven might be more interested in the variety of dance competitions set to take place, including the sword dance, a display of choreographed gloating in which a performer dances over two swords, one belonging to the battle's victor, the other to the loser. And then there's the food. Vendors will serve Scotch eggs (hard-boiled eggs wrapped in sausage, then deep fried), haggis (animal intestines or casings filled with spices and internal organs), and neeps and tatties (boiled and mashed potatoes and turnips). In case that doesn't exactly tempt your palate, there will be typical festival fare available as well. For more info visit www.mnscottishfair.org or call 651.463.8818.
Sat., May 17, 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m., 2008