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The Tri-Valley will be immersed in the culture and tradition of Scotland this Labor Day weekend as the Scottish Highland Gathering & Games makes its annual pilgrimage to the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton.
Beyond the familiar bagpipes, brogue, kilts and haggis, the Scottish Games on Saturday and Sunday will feature heavy athletics championships, clans from across North America, cultural demonstrations, live music and dance, and more – including the expectation of drawing more than 35,000 visitors to the fairgrounds.
“There are very few events left in America that can trace their roots back 160 years,” said Alex J. Cameron-Sinclair, first chieftain of the Caledonian Club of San Francisco, which hosts and organizes the annual Scottish Games.
“This year, Pleasanton will host world champions, clan chiefs from Scotland, and thousands of visitors celebrating a tradition that has endured for more than a century and a half,” Cameron-Sinclair added in a press release. “The 160th Games represent one of the most significant milestones in our history.”
Gates at the fairgrounds will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (Sept. 5-6) for the Scottish Games.
Headlining the holiday weekend festival will be the 2026 Men’s Scottish Heavy Athletics World Championships and 50th annual U.S. Invitational Heavy Athletics Championships, showcasing many of the world’s best athletes in competitions like the caber toss, hammer throw, stone put and weight-over-bar.
One of the largest gatherings of pipe bands and solo competitors in North America, the event will feature more than 200 solo pipers and drummers vying for honors.
Other performances and displays will include Highland dancing championships, sheepdog trials, Scottish country dancing, Celtic musicians, living history exhibits, birds of prey demonstrations, clan village displays, traditional Scottish food and drink, and the Massed Bands ceremony with hundreds of pipers and drummers performing together at once.
This year’s games will host 54 clans and Scottish societies, according to organizers. “For one weekend, Pleasanton becomes one of the largest Scottish gatherings anywhere outside Scotland,” they added.
For tickets and more information, go to thescottishgames.com.
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