South East Florida Highland Games: The Story

The Scottish American Society of South Florida (SASSF) was created in 1983, when a group of Scots and Scottish-Americans banded together to organise a festival in Key Biscayne to introduce the people of South Florida to the rich culture of Scotland. Although South Florida was home to several pipe bands, Scottish dance groups, and social clubs, there was no overall coordinated local celebration of Scottish heritage. This was unexpected given that many founders of the South Florida community were of Scottish descent, notably: Major William Lauderdale; the Matheson family, who were influential in the settlement of Key Biscayne; and Guy Metcalf, who was the founding editor of the Tropical Sun, Palm Beach's first newspaper.

Having participated in many different festivals both within and outside Florida, founding president, Nigel MacDonald and others in the local Scottish community decided that it was time to do a festival of their own. The first Executive Board consisted of President, Nigel MacDonald; Vice President, Bob Ritchie; Director, Ken Hislop; and Director, Beth Murray; all of whom were Scottish. Additionally, the Executive Secretary, Gail Shovlin, and Treasurer, Rich Czerwinski; were both of Polish descent; and Richard Hurwitz, the designer of the alligator logo, was of Scottish/German descent. The first meeting was held in April 1983 with about 15 members in attendance.

Following the formation of the Scottish American Society of South Florida, the next aim was to identify a place in which the festival could be held. The old zoo in Crandon Park on Key Biscayne was vacant and was the ideal location. At the time, the members of the organisation had very little experience in events management, but this was easily compensated by their levels of enthusiasm. Although some members brought their family traditions and Scottish culture to the festival, it appealed to not only Scots, but to those with no celtic roots. The aim of the festival was, therefore, to bring people together, regardless of origin, to experience and celebrate Scottish culture and heritage. As a result despite the small size of the local Scottish community, the festival's appeal was far-reaching. After a year of hard work and fundraising, the first Highland Games and Festival was held in South Florida on the 11th of February, attracting over 4000 attendees. It was a huge success and went a long way to securing enough funds for the festival the following year!

Following the success of the first Festival and Highland Games, the society was incorporated as a non-profit organisation. Around about the same time, the Joe Robbie Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium), the home of the Miami Dolphins was being built and seeking non-profit organisations to manage their vendor booths. The SASSF volunteered here, managing several vendor booths, with a percentage of the sales going directly to the society. After a few years, this generated enough money to allow the society to invite several performers from Scotland and Canada to perform at the South East Florida Festival and Highland Games. From here, the Highland Games grew to reach a peak attendance of 8000 people!

The festival was held in Crandon Park Zoo from 1984-1995, however the venue was badly damaged by Hurricane Andrew and as a result the event has moved to several different locations since. For the past four years the new home for the festival has been in Plantation Heritage Park. This fabulous Park is the ideal venue for the Festival and Highland Games, with several local amenities providing a great service that's fun for all involved. This year, alongside the traditional pipe bands and highland games, the festival will feature music from Canadian Celtic rock sensations, Mudmen; The Piper Jones Band, and the City of Dunedin Pipe and Drum Band! Now in its 37th year, the South East Florida Festival and Highland Games is a unique event that brings 'a little piece of Scotland' to all within the South Florida community!