The Grandfather Mountain Highland Games turned 70 this year, and the weather showed up right on theme. It rained. It usually does. But a wet mountain is nothing to a crowd celebrating Scottish heritage, where a steady drizzle is more or less the national climate, so the pipes played, the cabers flew, and everyone carried on like the forecast was a formality.
After four days of it, the heavy athletics crowned two new overall champions. On the women's side, Dee McGillivray took the overall title in her first outing in the category, winning four of the seven events. In the men's competition, Kyle Lillie notched his first overall win, with three first-place finishes and two seconds.
The Watauga Democrat was on the mountain for all of it and has the full reports: the women's heavy athletics results, the men's results, and a look back at 70 years of the Games.
Congrats to everyone who threw, tossed, and danced through the drizzle. See you next July.
A left917 roundup · based on reporting by the Watauga Democrat
More local coverage connected to this story.