BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) — Northeast State Community College (NESCC) hosted its first-ever Amateur Highland Games on Saturday.
The event featured Scottish-inspired activities including hammer throwing, caber toss, open stone, Scottish back-hold wrestling and more.
NESCC’s International Education Program Chair, Nona Shepherd, told News Channel 11 that the event celebrates Scottish heritage, which runs in many Tri-Cities residents’ bloodlines.
“We know that obviously in this region we have a lot of Scots-Irish heritage,” said Shepherd. “And so we wanted to highlight that through the Scottish Games. We also wanted to collaborate more with some of our community groups because, like, international education usually does sponsor the Appalachian Highlands Celts’ Celtic Festival each year.”
The inaugural event was made possible thanks to the college’s International Education Program, the Appalachian Highland Celts and Everblade Academy. Campus staff said they hope to have this event annually.
“But this is an opportunity to bring them to campus in a new way,” said Shepherd. “And also to collaborate with that third party of Everblade Academy. So we want to strengthen those ties between the college and the community, as well as highlight a cultural aspect of our region and an international aspect of our region.”
