Sir Malcolm to visit Grandfather Mountain Highland Games

Sir Malcolm Colquhoun, Chief of the Colquhouns, will be a Distinguished Guest at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games near Linville, NC the weekend of July 13^th, 2013.

The GMGH (www.gmhg.org) are held about ½ mile up the mountain in MacRae Meadow off US 221. The general public attending the games are required to park in various designated locations and be shuttled up to MacRae Meadow usually on a bus. The closest public parking is in Linville at US 221 and Hwy 105. Here is what the games published on their website for last year:

Shuttle Bus Information

Round-trip tickets on the shuttle bus from Boone are $10.00 per person. The Shuttle buses run from Caldwell Community College Parking lot in Boone to MacRae Meadows and back. Boone shuttle service is available on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the games during the day events only. Security is provided at the Parking lot. If you purchase a 4-day advance ticket the round-trip shuttle bus ride is free all 3 days from Caldwell Community College Parking lot in Boone and from the Avery County High School (Friday and Saturday) and the Linville Lot (Saturday and Sunday). No Shuttle bus services for the night events. Those riding the shuttle buses to the day events must shuttle off the mountain by 5:00 pm and drive back to the mountain. The night events are general public parking. Round-trip tickets on the shuttle bus from Linville lot are $5.00 roundtrip, $3.00 one-way. (Saturday and Sunday) Round-trip tickets on the shuttle bus from the paved parking lots at Avery County High School (Friday and Saturday) are $5.00.

There is no general handicap parking.

There is RV and primitive tent camping available at MacRae Meadow. If you were to use an RV you should count on getting there by Wednesday or Thursday and staying until at least Monday. The best (and flattest) tent spots go quickly and it is quite crowded by Friday and Saturday nights. There is also a fine state campground on the Parkway (Julian Price) in between Blowing Rock and the exit for Grandfather Mountain.

There are several small towns surrounding GMHG to stay at. The Sugar Mountain/Beech Mountain/Banner Elk area is a ski resort during the winter. Traffic can be heavy on Hwy 105 going to the games leaving from this area, so be sure to leave early. Boone is a larger town past this area. Last week there was a reasonable rate at the InnPlace in Boone on the Hotels.com website. It’s not far from the Caldwell Community College parking mentioned above. Blowing Rock is a smaller town south of Boone. It’s possible to reach GMHG using the Blue Ridge Parkway from Boone or Blowing Rock. You would actually pass the games entrance on Hwy 221, go down the mountain, park, and ride the shuttle back up. 

If you would like to go and have any questions beyond this description please contact me and I’ll do my best to answer them. We would love to see you there and we’re hoping for a large turnout for our chief!

Skeets Cahoon. Past president Hollis B. Skeets Cahoon is seriously ill. Skeets’ oldest daughter Fran is keeping everyone up to date on his condition through the website www.carepages.com Patients are listed with code names on this site; Skeets’ code name is “ScotlandForever”. You will have to register and sign in with a password to see the updates and post comments. From the website: “Skeets, a dyed-in-the-wool Hokie (literally), is suffering from a serious brain injury he sustained in a fall on September 22, 2012. He needs your prayers to lift him up and help him find his way. He is a Va. Tech graduate, electrical engineer, consultant and co-founder of Collegiate Tartan Apparel.” Skeets doesn’t always recognize even his family and his condition seems to be on a downward spiral with good days and bad days. We wish all the best to him and his family in this difficult time.

Sir Malcolm's Portrait Unveiled

Our thanks to Nashville artist Michael Shane Neal and his personal assistant Shannon Crosslin for sending us their photos of the unveiling of Sir Malcolm Colquhoun's portrait a few weeks ago after the Luss Highland Games.

Shannon tells me that the portrait is a gift of Mr. Rick Calhoun of Arkansas. I've met Patrick Calhoun of Little Rock several years ago and I believe that's him in the suit on the left about to ascend the steps of Rossdhu. Please let me know if I've misidentified him.

Artist Michael Shane Neal speaking before the unveiling.

Sir Malcolm speaking before the unveiling.

The other portraits on the wall behind them are past chiefs of Clan Colquhoun. I believe this is in what was called the Large Drawing Room where the portraits were traditionally displayed.

Shannon tells me all the portraits will be moved to the Clan Museum and Heritage Center when it is completed sometime next year.

The portrait of Sir Malcolm is now added to a collection of portraits spanning over 500 years of the Colquhoun family.

Clan Colquhoun International

Our Chief, Sir Malcolm Colquhoun, has a new website and a new proposal. The website is: http://www.clancolquhoun.com/ and the proposal is centralizing the Clan. From the first time I became involved with Clan Colquhoun in the States in the mid 1980's it seemed one of the big regrets was a lack of involvement with the UK clan organization. Now here's a hand offered to get involved with an international grouping of our members and I'm grasping it readily!
I'm already a member of Clan Bell International and I hope all of you will visit Sir Malcolm's site and register for the newsletter.

The Gathering 2009

Thanks to Jim and Becky Kilpatrick for sharing their pictures with us of their trip to The Gathering. Above is Jim with Sir Malcolm Colquhoun, Chief of the Colquhouns!
With younger son Fergus on the left and eldest son Patrick on the right.