The 11th annual Covenanter Scottish Festival and Highland Games will take place on Saturday, Sept. 7, at Middle Octorara Presbyterian Church, 1199 Valley Road, Quarryville. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and it will feature a variety of live music, games, demonstrations and other traditional activities to celebrate Scottish culture and history.

During the festival, musicians such as Charlie Zahm, Tad Marks and Fire in the Glen will perform. Zahm will also offer an educational program about the Jacobite Rebellion, which involved Bonnie Prince Charlie's attempt to claim the throne during the Battle of Culloden in 1745. The Philadelphia and District Pipe Band and Ceol Neamh Pipe Band will perform arrangements of Scottish music during the opening ceremony. The two groups will also participate in a competition that will double as a practice for the Celtic Classic Highland Games in Bethlehem, which both outfits will perform in.

The Scottish Festival will incorporate Highland Games, which will offer attendees an opportunity participate in customary athletic competitions such as the caber toss in addition to bagpiping and Scottish dancing contests. This year, the event will also feature a Gaelic Language Village, which will include interactive activities to highlight Gaelic music and poetry. The Gaelic Language Village, which will be operated by members of the Gaelic School of Baltimore, will also feature a demonstration of "walking the cloth," a collaborative method of making durable garments and blankets that was created by Scottish women.

Various demonstrations will take place throughout the day, including sheepherding, spinning and weaving. Scottish clans from across Pennsylvania and neighboring states will be in attendance to sell merchandise and refreshments, in addition to offering informational resources on Scottish history. Attendees of all ages may sign up for an educational activity to learn Highland dancing techniques at 2 p.m.

Every year, the Scottish Festival features an old-fashioned haggis ceremony to provide information on the rare dish and its history. Participants in the ceremony may have a taste of haggis and a sip of Scotch whiskey for one of Scotland's most popular customs.

The Covenanter Scottish Festival was started by the Octorara Covenanter Presbyterian Foundation in 2013 as a means to acquire the funds necessary to restore and maintain the church campus. The event serves as one of the largest fundraisers for the Octorara Covenanter Presbyterian Church, which is believed to be North America's oldest Covenanter church. In recent years, the foundation has used the profits from the Scottish Festival to cover the building's general maintenance costs and ongoing restoration projects. The funds raised by this year's event will help the Octorara Covenanter Presbyterian Foundation replace the ceiling of the church's museum.

"The Scottish Festival has continued to grow every year, and we've continued to add more activities and new attractions," said Donna McCool, who co-chairs the event with John Girvin. "At first, we had 200 people come out; now we have more than 1,000 participants every year. It's an event that's unique to the area, which has a rich history of Scottish and Irish settlers; it's a good thing for people to honor their heritage."

For more information, visit http://www.covenanterscottishfestival.com.