Fun in the sun at silver jubilee Highland Gathering

TANGERANG (JP): The first day of the two-day Scottish summer fiesta, the Jakarta Highland Gathering, began here on Saturday, highlighted by a parade of bagpipe bands from eight countries.

Hundreds of visitors, mostly foreigners, thronged the grounds of Pelita Harapan School in Lippo Karawaci to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the festival.

The incessant wailing of bagpipes, men walking around wearing kilts and a group of woodchoppers made you feel as though you were really in Scotland. Except for the extreme heat of the sun, that is.

Among the woodchoppers was a Canadian named Brad, whose face was reddened by sunburn.

Brad was among six loggers from Canada, New Zealand and Australia who were invited by the committee for the event.

They competed with each other to show who was the fastest in cutting wood using an axe and saw.

The winner of the competition will get "a slap on the back", as Brad put it.

The festival is apparently an eagerly awaited event for pipers and drummers from countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and Australia.

"Yes, we came all the way here just to play the bagpipes," said Aminda from the Sri Dasmesh Malaysian Sikh Band.

Combining their white traditional Sikh costumes and turbans with long tartan clothes, Aminda said that the band has been a three-times contestant in the annual event.

Other contestants included a Republic of Singapore police Gurkha contingent and Australia's Hawthorn City Pipe Band.

There were also soccer matches, equestrian events and many other competitions.

And there were also dozens of food stalls, selling Indian, Indonesian, European and Mexican food, and souvenirs stalls where you could buy kilts and tartan outfits.

A visitor named Carla from Portugal said that the event was fun.

"Especially because it is safe for children and they can run around and play many games," she said, pointing to children's games like table football.

A British lady, however, complained that the location was too far from her house in Menteng, Central Jakarta.

Highland gatherings have been a tradition in Scotland for hundreds of years.

As home to around 1,000 Scottish families, the capital first witnessed the gathering in 1975. While the gathering is also conducted in other countries, the Jakarta Highland Gathering is said to be the largest and busiest in the world as it also attracts people from all around the south-east Asia region.

To mark the silver jubilee this year, the event takes place over two days.

As for Sunday's event, it will start at 7 a.m. with a 10 km running competition and will be followed by a series of activities.

Some 100 dancers from five nations will perform their traditional dances. There will also be international parachutists, rugby and volleyball competitions, and the sensational "heavies", or the strongest men in the world.

This year's event will feature Bruce Aitken from Scotland who is the current World heavy hammer (10 kilogram) throwing champion. (hdn)