OLD ORCHARD BEACH — The Scottish have a saying, “Ceud Mìle Fàilte” – a hundred thousand welcomes.
Local community organization OOB365 is welcoming everyone to its Scottish Festival from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday in Veterans Memorial Park.
“This has never been done in southern Maine,” said OOB365 President Sharri MacDonald. “It’s going to be fun.”
MacDonald said there’s an annual Scottish festival in Topsham that is well attended, and she reached out to the St. Andrew’s Society of Maine, an organization focused on the preservation of Scottish heritage and culture, for guidance in planning an event in Old Orchard Beach.
“According to the 2010 Census, Maine has the highest concentration of people of Scottish ancestry in the nation,” said Maine State Library genealogist Emily Schroeder in a 2015 press release from the Maine State Library.
Although the festival is Saturday, the fun will actually begin Friday night with a pre-festival concert featuring Alvannach at The Brunswick, 39 W. Grand Ave. Admission is free.
Saturday will include festivities for all ages, including music and traditional Scottish dancing. There will also be “heavy athletics,” which includes throwing heavy objects such as cabers, and vendors, including a kilt maker and those serving traditional Scottish food. Educational programming can be had at the Edith Belle Libby Memorial Library, located adjacent to the park.
OOB365 is focused on hosting events to bring people to Old Orchard Beach year-round, and MacDonald hopes Saturday’s event will be a draw to the area before the summer season is in full gear.
— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.
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