TOPSHAM

Scottish and non-Scottish folks alike swarmed to the Topsham Fairgrounds on Saturday to witness a variety of competitions, from bagpiping and drumming to dancing and shot-put throwing and caber tossing at the Maine Highland Games.

The parking lot was nearing capacity by the start of the opening ceremonies at 10 a.m., and most folks stayed through the day.

“This event is great for Scottish people,” said Tamson Ross Arnold, honor guard for the Maine Public Safety piping band and member of the St. Andrews Society, who hosted the event. “They come from all over the country to take part in these games.”

Arnold’s company band and seven others like it marched into the fairgrounds one-by-one to form a “mass band” of pipers and drummers. Once all the bands converged, they played together in unison. One of the bands — the Emerald Police Society from London — was a special first-time guest.

“They came here today because they are our good friends,” said Arnold.

After the opening ceremonies, competitions started up around the fairgrounds. There was traditional Scottish dancing with bagpipe accompaniment, border collie demonstrations, and throwing competitions that tested the strength of participants.

“The basis of the competition are all sorts of random feats of strength,” said Nathan Burchett of Iowa, who was preparing to throw shot-put on the competition field. “These competitions originally started out as military training and feats of manhood. I got into it almost 15 years ago. My dad was a thrower, my older brother and younger sister play bagpipes, and my other sister is a professional highland dancer.”

Burchett said that the competitors would be taking part in nine separate throwing events throughout the day, all slightly different from the other but each involving throwing 50-pound weights at various targets.

“It’ll be a long day of throwing,” said Burchett. “We try to stay under the tent when we can to keep cool. The humidity makes it hard to keep a grip on things. We all love this, though.”

Patrons cheered on the contestants from the nearby stands, some choosing to wet their whistles at the Byrnes Irish Pub beer tent.

“This is our fourth year at the festival,” said Pat Byrnes, manager of the pub who was running the taps. “We’re pouring lots of beer today and having fun.”

Steve Raymond of Topsham was watching the stone put and some of the other games from the sidelines.

“The Scottish connection to the Midcoast is extensive,” said Raymond, whose wife is Scottish. “The first settlers came and created a cultural imprint on this place that has lasted for centuries. The whole Midcoast area is heavily saturated with Scottish influence a lot more than people realize.”