Highland Games kicks off Milwaukee's festival season

WAUWATOSA (WITI) -- Milwaukee's festival season kicked off Saturday morning, June 1st, at Hart Park in Wauwatosa where the Highland Games offered friendly competition and celebration of Scottish heritage.

"It's the best day of the year," says Ian Day. "We'll be competing against each other with our kilts on and shakin' our rear ends to make it look good!"

Lyle Crawford Maryniak of the St. Andrew's Society of Milwaukee describes the one day event as a three-ring circus of entertainment.

"It's heritage, it's music, it's food," says Maryniak. "It's the athletic competitions, it's demonstrations, it's people talking about their heritage and helping you learn a little bit about who we all are."

Highland Games organizer Dale Larson says there's a lot of wonderful Scottish history and it continues to evolve.

"We were pulled into another country's government for hundreds of years and we're just now starting to break away again and it's like with any culture, to keep it alive we have to celebrate," says Larson.

The Highland Games run from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m. Saturday, June 1st. Admission is $10 for adults and children 13 and older. Organizers are also collecting non-perishable food items to be donated to the Hunger Task Force.