The 12th annual Covenanter Scottish Festival will be held Saturday, Sept. 6, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Middle Octorara Presbyterian Church, 1199 Valley Road, Quarryville.

The event, sponsored by the Octorara Covenanter Presbyterian Foundation, will be held rain or shine. Attendees should bring lawn chairs and blankets for seating. There is an admission fee. Go to http://www.covenanterscottishfestival.com for additional information.

A total of approximately 75 men and women from across the country will compete in traditional Scottish games such as the hammer toss, sheaf toss, caber throw, and brae mar stone lift. Trophies will be awarded to the winners. There will be mini versions of the games for children to try.

As usual, music will play an integral role in the event. Fire in the Glen will perform Scottish-Irish music and Chivalrous Crickets will play Celtic tunes. The Philadelphia & District Pipe Band has played every Covenanter Scottish Festival and will be back.

Gaelic School of Baltimore will be in The Language Village and teach some basics of the Scottish-Gaelic language through poetry and songs. There will also be a sanctioned piping competition.

Awards will be presented for the best clans, and genealogy information will be available. Gene Sheninger will provide sheep- and duck-herding demonstrations.

Boy Scout Troop 87 will sell water, soda, and tea, and Country Gals will sell ribs, chicken barbecue, hamburgers, and hot dogs.

Scottish favorites shepherd's pie and bangers and mash will be on the menu.

There will be an opening ceremony at 11:30 a.m., featuring welcome remarks by Octorara Covenanter Presbyterian Foundation president John Girvin. The national anthem and "Scotland the Brave" will be performed.

John's father, Barry, will provide tours of the Octorara Covenanter Presbyterian Church and museum, where he is the curator. The church and museum are located across the street from Middle Octorara Presbyterian Church.

Barry will discuss the history of both of the churches as well as everything that is in the museum, including items related to the church's history, Scottish history, and Bart Township school history. There are photos dating back to when the Amish attended public schools, in addition to what Barry calls "priceless artifacts."

"One of my favorites is a Bible that a guy carried throughout the Civil War," Barry said. "Many of the people that settled here had Scottish-Irish roots, and they all kind of tied in with all these Presbyterian churches that you had in this area."

Barry said one of his favorite parts of the event is the Haggis Ceremony, which honors the Scottish delicacy. "The person who does a ceremony cuts the haggis and presents it another member of the ceremony who gets to taste a haggis, and then he also gets a shot at scotch. He normally says, 'The haggis is good, and the scotch is good.' Then you have to pay the piper."

Foundation board member Jonathan Welch said, "I think (the festival) is a tangible link to people's individual heritage. When you're asking yourself where do I come from, and what is the culture and the heritage associated with that? I think that's also a big draw. And to kind of link that up with things to do makes it enjoyable. You can be studious in your search for your family history, but then also kind of enjoy the other side of it as well."

"The whole festival began with the idea to help raise funds," John said. "Everything we're doing is to help raise funds for the restoration and maintenance of the (Octorara Covenanter Presbyterian) church and museum." The foundation has funded numerous projects, including the stabilization of the building, and most recently painting the outside of the church.