MacRae Meadows — Attraction in North Carolina

We went for the highland Scottish games 2018. It was enjoyable, though for the money I don't think we will return. The location was gorgeous, the people friendly, and there were several events that we had fun watching. I particularly enjoyed the country dancing in which my 5 year old son and I participated. We met some fellow clansmen and enjoyed hanging out in our clan tent. We watched several of the competitions including highland dance, marathon, sheaf toss, hammer throw, rock toss, high jump, and wrestling (men's and women's) and the athletes were impressive! Bathrooms and trash receptacles were abundant and well placed.

So, that being said, there were a few key things that were sorely missed: the music stages were tucked away and though we went on Saturday there were no performers at any of them whenever we happened to pass by. Maybe just bad luck on our part? There was NO BEER. This was a big disappointment for my husband and friends. I missed a "highland village" display that I've experienced at other games (where they demonstrate various handiwork and craftsmanship of days gone by), though we did spend some time watching a solo blacksmith and he was very interactive and friendly. The border collie demonstation was not as impressive as some I've seen at other games, but before the display we were allowed to pet a puppy which the kids enjoyed. In general the layout of events seemed cramped and not generally intuitive. We also, unfortunately, happened to come when the bagpipe competitions were running and they had multiple performers at the same time around the track. It was a cacaphony I won't soon forget 🙄. I enjoy bagpipes as much as the next person but 3 simultaneously playing different compositions is not easy on the ears.

As for merchants, there was not a lot in the way of traditional highland dress for women (something I was looking for), but there was a fabulous Potter with beautiful work (I love pottery and have not seen such beautiful items in a long time) by the name of Sonny Fletcher who informed me he only sells at festivals.

Overall it seemed to cater more to competitors than spectators. I'm sure if I had a family member involved it would have been...

The meadows themselves are beautiful. You could not ask for a nicer location. However, some of the staff for the GMHG are extreme rude and hateful. They do not respond to emails or phone calls regardless of how many messages they receive re meetings, volunteers, and tickets. When suggestions are made, they are met with hateful remarks. I think they may want to rethink the people they have interacting with their customer base before they end up losing a great deal of customers. Potential volunteers should not be met with rudeness nor should emails about meeting times for clans be ignored. If this were not my home game, I would have most definitely been turned off by my experience with the...

It was our first time going to Grandfather Mountain Highland Games 2025, which is held on MaRae Meadows on the side of Grandfather Mountain. It is a huge mostly flat area, easy to walk around. We had a great time. Great live music, vendors, crafts, food, atmosphere. Bagpipes, highland dance, and heavy athletics competitions, and sheep herding demonstrations. Lovely people in the clans tents who were very friendly, informative, and helpful. Luckily we brought our rain gear, because we were caught in a short but heavy downfall. Shuttle busses to the site ran continually and had very experienced, safe and careful drivers who had great stories and...