This is the famous Celtic Classic Highland Games & Festival. (https://celticfest.org/) A historic event held for nearly 40 years in Historic Downtown Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the Celtic Classic has grown into one of the largest free Celtic festivals in North America, drawing over 200,000 visitors annually.

Founded in 1988 on Columbus Day weekend by a small group of dedicated individuals, the event was built around a simple but powerful goal: to create a celebration that symbolized the Celtic spirit and history, and to anchor an organization committed to promoting Celtic culture. The Valley Ledger That organization is now the Celtic Cultural Alliance (CCA), a 501(c)(3) non-profit with year-round programming spanning arts, music, literature, dance, and heritage education.

On the athletics side, the Celtic Classic is home to the U.S. National Highland Games Championship. Only the top 10 point earners in the country qualify to compete making it one of the most prestigious professional Highland Games competitions in North America. Traditional athletic competitions include the caber toss, hammer throw, and other classic tests of strength and skill.

Beyond the heavy events, the festival features five stages of continuous entertainment, a diverse marketplace of authentic Celtic merchandise, pipe band competitions, Irish dance performances, cultural heritage programming, and musical workshops Lehigh Valley — all free to the public.

NASGA Legends Masters National Championships: Where Highland Games Experience Meets Its Finest Hour

There's a certain kind of athlete that doesn't peak in their twenties. They peak at fifty. Or sixty. Or seventy-plus. If you want proof, look no further than the NASGA Legends Masters National Championships — the premier masters-level Highland Games competition in North America.

Organized under the banner of NASGA (North American Scottish Games Athletics) and run by a legend himself Kerry Overfelt, the Legends is the national championship event specifically for masters athletes across a wide range of age classes, from the 40-44 division all the way through 70 and beyond. Men and women compete separately across both open and lightweight divisions, ensuring that athletes of every build and background have a place at the line.

The format is straightforward in the best possible way: come throw. The nine traditional Highland Games heavy events — including the caber toss, weight for distance, hammer, stone put, and sheaf toss — serve as the proving ground. What makes the Legends special isn't the format, though. It's the field. These are athletes who have spent years, sometimes decades, refining their technique, building their knowledge of the events, and competing at games across the continent. The mastery on display is genuinely earned.

Masters Highland Games competition is one of the sport's best-kept secrets. The community is tight-knit, deeply passionate, and remarkably inclusive. Athletes who might be grandparents by morning are throwing the caber by afternoon — and doing it with the kind of precision that comes only from experience. The Legends National Championship celebrates exactly that: the idea that strength, skill, and competitive fire don't have an expiration date.

For athletes looking to test themselves against the best masters competitors in North America, the Legends is the benchmark. For spectators, it's an inspiring reminder of what a life lived in the sport looks like.

Clan Bacon: The Heart Behind the Women's Lightweight National Championship

Not every organization in the Highland Games world has a motto in Gaelic that translates to "Tasty Meat Candy." But then again, not every organization is Clan Bacon — and that's exactly what makes them special.

Founded on February 27, 2012 in a Best Western motel in El Paso, Texas, after a few too many Shiner Bocks, Clan Bacon was built on a simple premise: if you love throwing heavy things and you love bacon, you belong here. clanbacon What started as a spirited celebration of Highland Games culture and cured pork products has grown into one of the most recognized and genuinely beloved organizations in the sport.

At the center of Clan Bacon's athletic mission is the Women's Lightweight North American Championship — now entering its 10th annual edition clanbacon, the championship has become the premier stage for the best lightweight women's Highland Games athletes in North America. The event is an invitational for the top 10 ranked lightweight women, who gather to compete across all nine Scottish heavy events for the title of national champion. GuideStar It is a field of record holders, veterans, and rising stars — and Clan Bacon has been building and stewarding that stage since the beginning.

Clan Bacon also maintains the world records for the Women's Lightweight Highland Games class, as well as records for the Women's Lightweight North American Highland Games Championship — making them not just an event host, but the official keepers of the division's history and standards.

The Men's U.S. Lightweight National Championship is one of Highland Games' most exciting and underappreciated divisions — a class defined by speed, technique, and elite athleticism within a strict weight limit. Starting in 2025, Scottish Athletics International (SAI) stepped up to give it the championship infrastructure it deserves.

Beginning in 2025, SAI took over coordination of the Men's U.S. Lightweight Nationals, bringing to the lightweight class the same organizational experience it has developed through its stewardship of the Masters World Championships. Scottish Athletics Int The goal is straightforward and ambitious: elevate the profile of the lightweight division and give its athletes a genuine national championship stage worthy of their talent.

Central to that vision is the Steward model — festival games that host the national championship and carry the event's prestige into their communities. SAI currently has two confirmed Stewards: the Dublin Irish Festival, which hosted in 2025, and the Salt Lake City Highland Games, which takes the stage in 2026. Scottishathleticsint These aren't just venue assignments. Steward games are partners in growing the championship, bringing their audiences, their infrastructure, and their local Highland Games communities into the national conversation around lightweight athletics.

SAI's long-term goal is to expand to at least three Steward festivals, allowing the championship to rotate annually and reach athletes and fans in different regions of the country. Scottishathleticsint More Stewards means more access, more exposure, and more opportunities for the lightweight class to build the kind of national following it's long deserved.

On the rankings side, a refresh of the NASGA website, nasgascores.com, will serve as the source for scores and therefore the basis for national championship invitations starting in 2027.

For lightweight athletes across the country, this is a significant moment. A dedicated governing body, transparent rankings, established championship venues, and a clear pathway to competition — the Men's U.S. Lightweight Nationals is no longer just an event. Under SAI, it's becoming a true national championship program.