Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, Inc.

12/18/2024

Open House Pictures

Thank you for joining us!

12/16/2024

Please join the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games Board, Officers, and Staff at an Open House tomorrow, December 17 at our Linville Office at 4210 Mitchell Avenue. After Helene, we feel it is especially important we celebrate the Holiday Season with our friends and colleagues. We feel so fortunate to be going ahead with our 69th Anniversary Highland Games to be held July 10 through the 13th, 2025.
Please drop by between 11AM and 2PM for food, eggnog, and a healthy dose of Christmas cheer. We look forward to sharing our plans for what we hope will be a tremendous festival, and one that that will contribute significantly to the High Country and Avery County.
Come by and raise a glass to Avery County and the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games. We hope to see all of you there!

12/11/2024

The Grandfather Mountain Highland Games has received a donation from the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs for our Helene Recovery Fund. This gift, most generously offered by the organization featuring some 135 Scottish Chiefs, is important, both as it will help our recovery, but also serving as a symbolic gesture for the over 100 Scottish Clans who attend the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games each year. The Games and the SCSC enjoy a close relationship, and the Games is most appreciative of this donation, as well as the encouragement for the clans to join suit and support the Recovery Fund.

Those persons or societies wishing to donate may do so via our Grandfather Mountain Highland Games Website, or by mail at:

GMHG
PO Box 1095
Linville, NC 28646

Steve

12/02/2024

Please join the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games Board, Officers, and Staff at an Open House on December 17 at our Linville Office at 4210 Mitchell Avenue. After Helene, we feel it is especially important we celebrate the Holiday Season with our friends and colleagues. We feel so fortunate to be going ahead with our 69th Anniversary Highland Games to be held July 10 through the 13th, 2025.

Please drop by between 11AM and 2PM for food, eggnog, and a healthy dose of Christmas cheer. We look forward to sharing our plans for what we hope will be a tremendous festival, and one that that will contribute significantly to the High Country and Avery County.

Come by and raise a glass to Avery County and the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games. We hope to see all of you there!

Please RSVP via email if you can join us - [email protected].
Please still join us if you forget to RSVP. ☺

11/26/2024

This is an excellent interview with our president, Steve, about the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.

In this captivating episode of Life in Wilkes, Carl welcomes Steve Quillin, the current President of the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games and the 2024 His...

11/26/2024

11/25/2024

Happy birthday to Dr. Ronald McGowan, the youngest 92-year-old we know. Doc has served the Games at nearly every level possible, from pre-Games setup to President and Chairman of the Board. In short, Doc is a treasure, and better yet- he is our treasure!

Happy birthday Doc!

11/13/2024

The first piece in our official GMHG Scottish Village collection shown in a winter setting.

This adorable building inspired by traditional Scottish village buildings features our logo on the roof, our office in the middle, and a kilt business and a butcher business on each side. The building will be displayed in our office lobby and updated seasonally.

Available in our online store - https://gmhg.org/shop/

ps: accessories not included 😊

11/12/2024

11/9/2024 was an exciting day for the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games at the Hart Square Village in Vale, NC. Steve Quillin, Robert Moore, and James Shaffer were attending the North Carolina Society of Historians awards ceremony in support of an award that James nominated Robert for his professional creativity in designing visual material and Steve for his contributions and leadership to enhance this 2024 program booklet to a higher level of excellence.

Both Robert and Steve received the Multi-Media Award and to our surprise Steve Quillin was also awarded the North Carolina Society of Historians highest honor of Historian of the Year!

James Shaffer

11/04/2024

Congratulations!

10/29/2024

State of the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games - Now and Forward

I am directing this notice to our Clans, Conveners, Campers, Patrons (all classes) and the attending public.

Hurricane Helene (or Tropical Storm Helene by the time it arrived in Avery County) devastated the North Carolina High Country, both from disastrous flooding and high winds. Our beloved Avery County was hit especially hard, as you have no doubt noted in media reports.

Luckily, the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games came through very fortunately when compared with many in the county. That is not to say we came through unscathed. There is certainly work to be done to allow us to hold our 69th Annual Games July 10-13, 2025, but I want to allay any concerns on the part of the public about our ability to hold our event. We will go on!

Having said that, we do need help to recover and so does our community.

In summary, our impacts are assessed as follows:

We have some trees down at MacRae Meadows and MacRowdy that have to be cut up and removed. We have $10,000 of repair and replacement to the campground electrical system. We have $5000 to $10,000 of road repair at Gate 2 and the entry to the Chieftain parking area.

Most importantly, Old Yonahlossee Road was left impassable for nearly the entire length. Old Yonahlossee Road is the path by which our shuttle buses access MacRae Meadows. The Road is privately owned by others, but we desperately need to contribute financially to the restoration of the road to ensure the restoration is done before next July. The greatest and most expensive damage to the road is from severe washing. In many places Old Yonahlossee is a third of its former width and cannot accommodate school buses.

In recent years, the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games has seen our resources diminished by the costs of no Games in 2020 because of COVID, the tragic death in 2022 associated with the Bear, the cost in 2023 of removing over 90 trees on MacRae Meadows due to fungus and insect attack, and the 2024 failure of a major portion of our electrical system which required wholesale replacement. Each of these occurrences represented a significant, unbudgeted expenditure. In the aggregate, they represent over $400,000 in out-of-pocket expense for GMHG.

We are now in the position of asking for donations to help with these extraordinary expenses associated with Helene. We hope that our subscribing Clan societies, Scottish societies, and supporting individuals will donate to GMHG as generously as you can. No donation is too small; any amount will help. We pledge to keep the donations separate from our operations funding, and we will donate any money remaining from the campaign to the Avery County Chamber of Commerce “Build Back Avery” fund. The Avery Chamber of Commerce account will be targeted 100% to Avery County recovery.

GMHG is a 501(c)3 Non-Profit and your donations will be tax deductible.

Thank you very much for your consideration of this appeal. Please click on this link for donations: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/grandfather-mountain-highland-games-inc/gmhg-helene-recovery

If you prefer to mail a check please add the comment 'Helene Recovery' and mail to:
GMHG
PO Box 1095
Linville, NC 28646

Yours Aye,

Steve

*Pictured is the lower entrance of Old Yonahlossee Road

10/24/2024

Yesterday we had the pleasure of a visit from Maj. Andrew (Drew) Forsyth at our Linville office. Drew is the Forsyth Convener for the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, and he is here in his official capacity as the National Guard lead for Avery and surrounding counties in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

Drew is an excellent leader and is really making a difference in our area. We are proud to call him one of our own. Drew and his family are pictured in the GMHG Parade of Tartans at our 2024 Gathering.

Thank you Drew!

*Photo by Rob Randall

10/20/2024

Congratulations HARVEY E RITCH MEMORIAL PIPE BAND!

Congratulations to our educational band the HARVEY E RITCH MEMORIAL PIPE BAND on their first place in grade 5 at the Stone Mountain Highland Games yesterday! So many of us were affected by Hurricane Helene and are helping our communities recover. We were so glad to be able to compete, be with each other and see all our friends. And thanks to all for checking in with us to see how we have been faring. Your thoughts, prayers and support mean so much to us! Mountain Strong!!

10/11/2024

From the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation update post:
The shower house at MacRae Meadows was open for people all week (and through tomorrow, Saturday, October 12). With more and more households getting power back in Avery County, we will close the showers after Saturday.

From Levin Sudderth, our Operations Manager:
"We were proud to have offered the service, and in the future if a similar public need arises, we will be happy to provide these showers at no cost to the public so long as it is logistically possible."

10/11/2024

***POSTPONEMENT OF CHIEFTAIN PATRON PACKAGE WEBSITE SALES***

Due to hurricane damage our internet service is not completely restored. We apologize for the delay and will open sales as soon as we can.

10/07/2024

Free Food Update!

The Sliders truck is back today, Tuesday, October 8. They have breakfast and lunch today through 3PM!

4210 Mitchell Ave in Linville across the street from the post office.

Please note there is heavy, slow traffic in the area today but if you can get here, these folks are wonderful!

*Picture taken through window screen

10/05/2024

From the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation 🥰