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Waipu will be the place to be to welcome in the New Year this January 1, with the return of the town’s first traditional Highland Games since before the pandemic struck in 2020.
And the resumption of the piping, drumming and sporting spectacular will be extra special this year, as the event will be the 150th Highland Games to be held in the town.
Games organiser Waipu Caledonian Society is expecting thousands of people from far and wide to flock to the town to experience the sights and sounds of all things Scottish, from pipe bands and drummers to dancing and caber tossing.
The tartan-themed activity will be centred in Caledonian Park, the town centre land that was originally gifted by the society to Waipu as a green space to be kept in perpetuity for locals to enjoy and to use as a venue for the annual games.
“This is a huge milestone in anyone’s history and we approach it with great anticipation,” a society member said.
The celebrations kick off on New Year’s Eve with the Helen McGregor Memorial Medley, a piping competition with a difference, where New Zealand’s top players are encouraged to play a selection of non-traditional pieces ‘freestyle’ and judging is by popular choice. Held in the Celtic Barn foyer at 7pm, the $10 entry includes supper and bar sales are available.
Games Day itself starts bright and early when all the pipe and drum bands and Scottish clans gather for a street march to Caledonian Park. There then follows a wide range of different competitions – solo piping and drumming, fiddle playing, Highland dancing, tug of war, children’s races and the always popular heavyweight events.
The heavyweight sports date back to the times when kings and clan chiefs tested the agility, cunning and physical strength of their followers. Competitors throw 10kg Gaelic hammers, 25kg weights on short chains, 10kg rocks and 6.5kg sheaves, which are tossed high over a bar. Cabers are also tossed – heavy poles that weigh up to 59kg and are 5.5 metres long. The heavyweight event concludes with the Farmers Walk, where a 72.5kg weight is carried in each hand for as long as is possible.
Pipers and drummers join forces at lunchtime for a mass band march, followed by a mass Highland Fling and the singing of Flower of Scotland.
There will also be an open tug of war competition with cash prizes, plus plenty of stalls, food and drink trucks, live music and children’s entertainment.
Activities continue all day, then in the evening at 7pm, a Ceilidh will be held at the Celtic Barn, which will include performances from some of the prizewinning pipers, drummers and dancers.
Entry to the 150th Highland Games and the evening ceilidh costs $20 for each event. All proceeds are donated back into the Waipu community. Please note, dogs are not allowed into the games in Caledonian Park.
Info: Visit www.waipuhighlandgames.co.nz or Waipu Highland Games on Facebook
