{"id":12941,"date":"2020-02-16T10:45:54","date_gmt":"2020-02-16T18:45:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/in-pictures-a-culture-of-survival-scotsfest-brings-games-food-whiskey-to-queen-mary"},"modified":"2020-02-16T17:30:27","modified_gmt":"2020-02-17T01:30:27","slug":"in-pictures-a-culture-of-survival-scotsfest-brings-games-food-whiskey-to-queen-mary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/news\/in-pictures-a-culture-of-survival-scotsfest-brings-games-food-whiskey-to-queen-mary","title":{"rendered":"IN PICTURES: ‘A culture of survival’: ScotsFest brings games, food, whiskey to Queen Mary"},"content":{"rendered":"

At 6-foot-8, weighing 300 pounds, with flowing locks falling onto his face, Colin Dunbar’s mom thinks he looks like a cross between Samson and Jesus. On Saturday he hoisted a 175-pound caber pole to his shoulder, and flipped it skyward as if it were a Louisville Slugger.<\/p>\n

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Colin Dunbar grasps the caber during the 27th annual ScotsFestival & International Highland Games at the Queen Mary in Long Beach. Photo by Bill Alkofer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The fans at the 27th annual ScotsFestival at the Queen Mary droned a collective \u201cooooh.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 8,000 people came for the first day of the event to watch Dunbar and dozens of other men and women compete in a variety of Scottish Highland games. Most of the contests involve hefting or hurling heavy things like rocks, poles and hay.<\/p>\n

Dunbar is of Scottish descent and he had the chance to visit the homeland last year. (There\u2019s a Dunbar Castle on the Eastern shore.)<\/p>\n

\u201cThese games all reflect a culture of survival in harsh conditions,\u201d Dunbar said. \u201cYou\u2019re living off land that\u2019s a rain-drenched swamp 10 months of the year.\u00a0\u00a0Farmers have to move boulders out of their fields, lumberjacks have to toss tree trunks into the rivers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dunbar, a former Long Beach State track and field star, is in his second season as a pro. This weekend\u2019s contests feature pro and amateur athletes in both men\u2019s and women\u2019s division.<\/p>\n

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Vivian Guerreschi makes her toss in the Weight Over Bar competition during the 27th annual ScotsFestival & International Highland Games at the Queen Mary. Photo by Bill Alkofer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The ScotsFestival continues through Sunday and also features Highland Dancing competitions. There are piping, drumming and marching contests with the grand parade passing by the Queen Mary at noon.<\/p>\n

And the food. If sheep entrails are your thing, you\u2019ll be able to find haggis somewhere in the shadow of the Queen (grab a glass of whiskey first to clean your palate).<\/p>\n

For information on how to attend, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The 27th annual ScotsFestival & International Highland Games are held at the Queen Mary in Long Beach. Photo by Bill Alkofer
Photo by Bill Alkofer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Former Long Beach City College track star Jennifer McClain watches her heavy hammer fly. Photo by Bill Alkofer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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A woman participates in a stone carry during the 27th annual ScotsFestival & International Highland Games. Photo by Bill Alkofer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Cristian Bineckner represented Clan MacColin during the 27th annual ScotsFestival & International Highland Games. Photo by Bill Alkofer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Scottish bagpipe bands paraded during the 27th annual ScotsFestival & International Highland Games. Photo by Bill Alkofer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Jarvina Routt tosses her stone during the 27th annual ScotsFestival & International Highland Games. Photo by Bill Alkofer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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SoCal Herding held a border collie demonstration. Photo by Bill Alkofer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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A hammer throw competitor watches his follow-through. Photo by Bill Alkofer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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A competitor follows through in the sheaf toss contest. Photo by Bill Alkofer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Victoria Hinkley releases her heavy hammer SoCal Herding held a border collie demonstration. Photo by Bill Alkofer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Nicole Sabay watches her hammer throw during the 27th annual ScotsFestival & International Highland Games. Photo by Bill Alkofer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Randall White performs with the Pasadena Scottish Pipes & Drums during the 27th annual ScotsFestival & International Highland Games. Photo by Bill Alkofer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Erica Stewart and her twin sister Jamie competed in the sword dance competition. Photo by Bill Alkofer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Families paraded their Scottish plaids during the 27th annual ScotsFestival & International Highland Games. Photo by Bill Alkofer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Families paraded their Scottish plaids, Photo by Bill Alkofer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Norm Montgomery represented Clan MacColin during the 27th annual ScotsFestival & International Highland Games. Photo by Bill Alkofer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Colin Dunbar tosses his caber. Photo by Bill Alkofer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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SoCal Herding held a border collie demonstration. Photo by Bill Alkofer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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SoCal Herding held a border collie demonstration during the 27th annual ScotsFestival & International Highland Games at the Queen Mary in Long Beach on Saturday, February 15, 2020. Photo by Bill Alkofer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More than 8,000 people came for the first day of the festival to watch dozens of men and women compete in a variety of Scottish Highland games, many of which involve throwing things. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":252,"featured_media":70863,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2002],"tags":[3,75],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[2557],"class_list":["post-12941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-instagram","tag-festivals","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/252"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12941"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=12941"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=12941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}