42nd Annual Smoky Mountain Scottish Festival and Games
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
Scotland in the Smokies is calling you!!! Celebrating its 42nd year, the Smoky Mountain Scottish Festival and Games is Tennessee’s oldest festival of Scottish, Irish and Celtic culture. Presenting folk, roots, rock & pop music, highland athletics, pipes & drums, highland and Irish dance. Whisky tastings, vendors and a great selection of beer and food from the Scottish, Irish and British homelands. Enjoy a weekend of family fun in the beautiful foothills of Townsend, Tennessee, just outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Originally founded in 1981 as the Gatlinburg Scottish Festival and Games, the Games are one of the oldest Scottish Festivals in the country. In 2010, a new home was established in the city of Maryville on the grounds of historic Maryville College, home of “The Scots.” In 2022, we moved the event to a larger venue just down road in Townsend.
You don’t have to be Scottish in order to enjoy this unique Festival! Our location in the foothills of The Great Smoky Mountains is the perfect backdrop for you and your family to get a wee glimpse of Scotland -and to discover and appreciate the rich traditions and history of the Scottish and Scots-Irish settlers of our area.
East Tennessee’s celebration of Scottish culture returns May 20-21, 2023, and features the beloved clans, games and athletes from years past.
The event feature clans, vendors and local and national performers. The property at the visitor center provides a scenic destination for the festival with views of the nearby mountains and is just minutes from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Cades Cove. The 30-plus acres at the center includes adjacent parking.
Festival attendees will be treated to vibrant cultural and educational presentations, while Scotch tasting seminars will feature a bit of history and humor, and the Border Collie demonstrations will showcase their herding abilities.
Competitions include the hammer throw or caber toss, a medley of bands including bagpipes and drummers, and clan challenges like the kilted mile run or the battle axe competition.