August 16, 2008 --
Hi All,
The Ventura County Fair ended Sunday, August 10th and was another huge success for the Seaside Highland Games! Thanks to those of you who made it out to lend a hand and to so many who would have helped but for scheduling complications.
Our usual locale was unavailable to us so we, with the help of some very good friends at the Fairgrounds, made a makeshift booth and went from there--approaching and being approached by thousands. Many thousands, in fact. It was wonderful! All indications seem to be that we will hold attendance this year and possibly gain in numbers. That would be remarkable with the higher cost of travel and while some other Festivals have lost ground. You are each to be commended for your committment!
The remaining chores in these final weeks are many and time consuming. If you can make time to lend a few hours, please call Nellie and she will find something that fits your time and talents perfectly! Advertising is high on our list of chores and meetings with radio stations are ongoing. We don't have a TV spot but are looking to make a connection there. The new Seaside Games tee shirts are going to be awesome and we hope to have news about them very soon.
There are several Scottish Festivals between now and our October date. Please remember to take our Games materials (which you can print from the website) and become a roving ambassador for Seaside. Trust me, it can be a very rewarding experience! So, if you have ideas or a little time or suggestions of any kind, please give us a call. We are always ready to hear what you have to say.
Just a reminder, too, that our website has scrollbars both at the extreme right of the page AND at the right side of the center/text portion, just left of the celtic border. Make sure you use both to view ALL we have to offer.
Best to All,
John
July 10, 2008 --
The 8+ weeks between now and our sixth annual Seaside Highland Games on October 10, 11 & 12, 2008, are rapidly melting away and the Games weekend will be upon us all too soon! So many exciting plans have already been laid, however, that we KNOW will make this the best Games ever. We hope you will share some of that excitement through these wee notes.
A few things I can share are: fan favorites The Browne Sisters & George Cavanaugh are returning to share center stage again with Alex Beaton and that old, old friends Golden Bough will be winning over a new audience to their beautiful instrumentals and harmonies; the Ventura County Dart Association will have a huge darts competition on the grounds this year and that all the other venues you have come to love will be there—bigger and better! Friday’s events will again be at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel and let me tell you just a bit about the recently revamped Single Malt Scotch Tasting. This has been a very popular event and we want it to always be a happy kickoff to the weekend’s events. We expect to have more Scotch vendors pouring more products. This will be in the form of satellite tables instead of just one supplier—with a limited number of pours available to each guest. You do not want to go off to our A Scotttish Evening or other dinner occasion with a huge head! And, while I’m at it, the snacks at the Tasting are just that—wee snacks to clear your palate just enough to enjoy the next Scotch sample. THEY ARE NOT DINNER. Dinner will follow in the Ballroom or another location of your choice. Just NIBBLES, ye ken that, mates? Slainte to ane an’ all!
Did I say that we would not see you until October, then? NAY, I did not! The faithful are good to assist with our many Public Relations appearances in and around Ventura. See if you can spare a couple of hours at one of these very beneficial Games P/R appearances:
—San Diego Scottish Highland Games June 28 & 29
A Seaside Games booth needs people all weekend
—Ventura Fourth of July Street Fair
The Games Booth will be on Main Street near California
—Ventura County Fair, Seaside Park July 30 thru August 10
If you know of another venue where we could garner a bit of attention to our Seaside efforts, just GO and represent us or alert us and we’ll try to join you. Scottish Highland attire is hard to ignore—just ask the British Consul General in Los Angeles to whose home we recently wore our Prince Charlie to a so-called “informal” gathering. His comment to me was, “Thanks for dressing down!” Oh well, we weren’t ignored!
The following is information about the 2006 and 2007 Seaside Games--both wonderfully successful outings! Read and enjoy!
ALEX BEATON & ALASDAIR FRASER (and lovely Natalie Haas) will be in concert SATURDAY evening at 8 PM at The PIERPONT INN, 550 Sanjon Road, Ventura (just two miles from the Fairgrounds). Tickets are just $15 and may be purchased at The Pavilion Room door. Don't miss this chance to see and hear two such favorites in one comfortable indoor setting!
Other plans for the 2007 SEASIDE HIGHLAND GAMES (OCTOBER 12, 13 & 14) being held again in beautiful Ventura, CA are moving swiftly! Tickets and entry forms for all venues and competitions either are available on this website or through the sponsoring body. Scottish Highland Dance, Heavy Athletics and Bagpipe Bands organizations all have their own rules and we comply with each governing organization so Seaside results are properly entered in the record books. But, as attendees, you can order tickets and become Games Sponsors right now!
Tickets for the October 12 Friday night events--a Single Malt Whisky Tasting and our very popular "A Scottish Evening" (music, food, fun & fashions)--a tradition leading to Games weekend--are selling out quickly. The Whisky Tasting is an excellent opportunity to mix and meet friends and to entertain business associates. The Scottish Evening sells out quickly so grab some tickets before they're all gone!
As we inch ever closer to October, more entertaining events are brought to the Field each week. The latest is An Cór Ceilteach, the Celtic Arts Center's choir which will perform in conjunction with Christopher Scott Wilborn's popular Gaelic classes and, very likely, another concert on Alex & Alasdair's Center Stage.
If you heard Ventura's British Brass Band last year, you are in for a treat as they have agreed to be with us again. Stirring marches and the more melodic classical tunes are in their repertoire. Great stuff! Check www.venturabritishbrass.com to see and HEAR them!!
We are very pleased that the LA Scottish Fiddlers Scottish Fiddlers of Los Angeles - Home will be with us for the very first time this year. It only took five years but they were finally able to clear their calendar! And, only recently at Pomona did we make contact with the fantastic harpist Barbara Ellen Schilling Music From The Harp -- Barbara Ellen Schilling -- (949) 285-0918 who will perform together with other area harpists--something I have wanted since the beginning!
Now, as we make our rounds of other venues and Festivals, our message is "Come to Ventura for the fun of it!" It IS a fun event that we want everyone to enjoy. Fun with a wee bit of education thrown in. The Children's Glen, always a beehive of activity, will be even moreso this year and one very serious activity will be sponsored by a group called "Soldier's Angels" where the children get to write actual messages to our troops overseas. That, plus the excellent Children's ID program put on by the Masonic Order, balance the fun and games activities each child will enjoy.
Darts will be featured in some demonstrations by the Ventura Dart Association. Just to see how you--and they--like being at Seaside! Can there be more?? Oh yes, there is so much more and we plan to keep you posted as the days and weeks click off toward our October weekend.
The Ventura County Fair was a wonderful success for the Games during its twelve day August run and we thank all the many Volunteers who came out to lend a hand. Many residents from near and far were introduced to our event and many old friends stopped by to assure us they would be on hand, as usual. Very rewarding to hear those words! The Mayor dropped by for a chat and local Scottish DJ "Spence" says he hopes to turn the caber in the required three tries this year! The Fairgrounds took a beating, as it always does (from the nearly 300,000 Fair attendees) but a quick look today gave hopeful signs of clear streets and green grass by October. The great Fairgrounds crew were busily clearing, raking and watering.
Yes, it's SHREK wearing his very own specially-designed tartan--after all, he IS Scottish, sort of, and he HAS a Scottish brogue, sort of, so the staid tourism agency VisitScotland decided he needed a tartan to wear in Shrek the Third! It is described as being of muted browns and acid greens and was woven by the famous Borders knitwear company, Lochcarron. The idea is to have more people trace their own Scottish roots so let's hope it works! It took a full ten meters (about eleven yards) for the outfit--more than the whole nine yards!
UPDATE: We made contact with the party overseeing Shrek's costumes and, sadly, they are all in use in October. We are on a "wait list" and may get a call so Shrek can enjoy the Games with us, too!!
The fourth (last year's) annual Seaside Highland Games were successfully conducted over the weekend of October 13, 14 & 15, 2006 at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. While we are still putting finishing touches on financial and attendance tallies, it appears that we have enough to pay our bills--and a little more--and that more people than ever came to this year's Festival. Attendance appears to be somewhere between 17,600 and 18,000--an amazing number either way!
There is no doubt that any success is due to the cooperation and hard work of so many that we cannot even count. Of course, there is a core of amazing volunteers that we shudder to think of doing without and I will even share some of those names in days ahead--they so deserve the credit they've earned.
I don't know that we set any world records in our competitive areas but came very close in ladies athletics when Summer Pierson nearly cleared the bar with a great effort in sheaf toss. Keep an eye on this young lady to see her surpass about anything we've seen! My prediction!
Each venue seemed full to overflowing as I made my way around the grounds--a sight that brought me great joy. If you came and were less than happy, let us know. You can also tell us about the things you DID like, too. That way, we'll know how to plan for 2007. Oh yes, those plans are very much underway, as you know. Please plan on lending your support to continuing a Scottish Festival we can all be proud of. Thanks to each one of you.
More to follow. Thanks for sticking with us!
Chief John Lowry
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