Scottish games are a unique combination of keen athletic competition and social gathering. It doesn't matter if you're not Scottish (it's just a shame, is all). It also doesn't matter if you're not competing. If you're there to have fun, you're welcome. This year's
St. Louis Scottish Games return to Chesterfield, and feature an equal measure of competition and camaraderie. The games open at 3 p.m. Friday, September 23, with a sheepdog demonstration and a tug o' war between police and firefighters from the St. Louis County Cadet Academy. After that comes a quidditch match contested by Webster University student teams and a good old-fashioned farmer's walk, which sees two strong fellas carry a pair of 250-pound weights for as long a distance as possible. The Wee Heavies band is also on the bill. Day two opens at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, September 24, and includes sword-fighting demos, a kilted kids race, highland dancing, pipe band competitions and the actual highland games. The heavies, as the gents who compete in the games are known, will compete in the open stone put, light and heavy weight throws, the Scottish heavy hammer, the sheaf toss and the caber toss. Basically, if it's massive and unwieldy, the heavies will throw it. The St. Louis Scottish Games take place on the field at Spirit Airpark West Drive and Olive Street Road in Chesterfield (
www.stlouis-scottishgames.com). Admission is $5 to $15, with two-day passes ($20) and family passes good for two adults and four kids ($25-$50) also available.