Having Too much Fun!
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Having Too Much Fun!!!Eileen MacLennan Johnson
 Eileen and Steve with our boys Brian and James. I know
from past experience that you hope to
see your Clan represented when you attend a Scottish Games and
Gathering and
the disappointed when there is no booth. I always understood that there
are not enough conveners to go around;
so with advise, support and guidance from our Secretary Colleen McKeon
and our
President David Jones, I decided to
take the leap to become a convener myself.
I hosted booths at six different Scottish Games in
California this
season (and I registered for a seventh, but due to the summer fires, I
was
unable to make the event in Oakland). It
was an absolute blast. I have to admit
that I am having more fun than should be allowed.
While I am not new
to hosting booths at
events for business or charity - hosting a Clan MacLennan booth is
quite
different. The atmosphere in the Clan
area at the events is laid back, fun, and exciting.
While I was nervous at my first event at the Sacramento
Valley
Games - I certainly didn’t want to make mistakes (at least not any
major ones) - I had so much fun! The conveners
for the other Clan booths were all very welcoming,
supportive and very helpful. They
made
me feel very much at ease and answered any questions I had. They made recommendations on how many events
to limit myself to and which events were better to havetwo
tent spaces at
verses one. I am fortunate that within
a one to eight hour drive I have at least 15 events to choose from. Many conveners here in California host tents
at five or more events a year.
 My first booth set up at Woodland, not too bad for a first attempt  Eileen's Parents Tom and Joan MacLennan  Eileen
with Mary Beth Herr and Family
 Seth and Jenny Logsden I decided to travel to Souther California next. I could not have asked for better “Divine Intervention”. You see I have a not so well kept secret . . . I love to go to Disneyland. Well, the first Games in Southern California where I had the opportunity to host a booth , happened to be in Orange County at the Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa on Memorial Day weekend. The venue was less than 15 minutes away from Disneyland and being Brian’s birthday as well, it was perfect. I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I was very glad I went. We met some wonderful families and our booth was placed nest to another new comer to the Costa Mesa Games, the Clan Logan Society. We were fortunate that Michael MacLennan, his wife Deborah and their daughter Isabella (Izzy) joined us for the Parade of Clans. Which on this day had an extra tribute, which was very nicely done, to honor those who served in our Country’s military. Interestingly, Clan McLeod was positioned behind us for the parade that weekend and had a celebrity in their ranks ... Capt. Jack Sparrow. We also had our booth near the sinking Titanic and other inflatable slides. Making great fun for the kids, but making conversations with adults a challenge at times.  Clan Parade at Costa Mesa with Michael, Deborah and Isabella (Izzy) MacLennan  Honoring Our Veterans on Memorial Day  Mark & Sharon Logan The beginning of June brought the Games to Campbell in the South Bay Area of the State. My dad, Tom, attended the event with me that weekend. Unfortunately, attendance was down due to fires and road closures. This situation created unusual announcements over the P.A. system by the end of the day calling for Scots to drink more (beer in this case). My dad really enjoyed talking for a good portion of the day with a gentleman by the name of Joe McClendon. Dad and I were fortunate enough to have Joe with us for the parade. He was pleased that we asked him to join us and to carry our Clan MacLennan Parade Banner (its debut, as well as the debut of a full size tent banner). I will have fond memories of the games at Campbell because it was the first time I had tried the Haggis toss. In short you return a bow with a curtsy, receive the haggis, shout something, try not to step on the river and land the haggis in the “wooden husband’s” kilt. I know that to compete next year I will have to practice in the “off season” and come up with a better cry then “Incoming!”  Eileen, her Dad Tom, and Joe McClendon  Booth set up on hot and windy day The beginning of June brought the Games to Campbell in the South Bay Area of the State. My dad, Tom, attended the event with me that weekend. Unfortunately, attendance was down due to fires and road closures. This situation created unusual announcements over the P.A. system by the end of the day calling for Scots to drink more (beer in this case). My dad really enjoyed talking for a good portion of the day with a gentleman by the name of Joe McClendon. Dad and I were fortunate enough to have Joe with us for the parade. He was pleased that we asked him to join us and to carry our Clan MacLennan Parade Banner (its debut, as well as the debut of a full size tent banner). I will have fond memories of the games at Campbell because it was the first time I had tried the Haggis toss. In short you return a bow with a curtsy, receive the haggis, shout something, try not to step on the river and land the haggis in the “wooden husband’s” kilt. I know that to compete next year I will have to practice in the “off season” and come up with a better cry then “Incoming!”  Booth set up at the largest event of the year: Pleasanton, CA  Program for the Games In September we made a whirlwind trip to the Central Valley and to a small games venue in Fresno. This event seemed to be the most tiring for us. We drove down to the games, hosted our booth, and drove back all in the same day (I couldn’t get out of my job on Sunday). It made for approximately a 20 hour day with only a few hours of sleep. However, it was also the first games that my eldest son Brian, competed in the children’s athletics; so this event was very memorable. Brian entered the Caber Toss and unfortunately did better in practice than in competition. He did much better in the Stone Throw placing 4th by throwing a 5lb stone 19.5 foot and missing 3rd place by just 1". My other son James also enjoyed the practice sessions but, just wasn’t quite comfortable enough to compete (although he says he might next time). Maybe I have two future heavy athletics stars on my hands.  Brian after a disappointing Caber Toss  Brian with his 19.5' Stone Throw  The Burnham Family  Celtic Cross at the Clan Area Entrance After Fresno, we again headed to Southern California to the Ventura County Coastline. The Seaside Games are held at the Ventura County Fairgrounds, and yes, they are just a frontage road away from the beach and the Pacific Ocean. What a way to end our 2008 festival season!! We ran into conveners we hadn’t seen since Costa Mesa and Michael, Deborah, and Izzy came and stopped by to say hello again and joined us for the parade. Michael and I were both upset when the announcer for the parade mispronounced the MacLennan name and took three tries to get it correct. Now that we are attending the Games, maybe they will know who we are next year. In addition to renewing acquaintances, we were fortunate enough to be placed near the stage where the Wicked Tinkers and others were playing all weekend. We were treated to fabulous music all weekend.  The Seaside Games were also
a favorite of
mine because the boys had a weekend with their grandparents. This allowed us to go into old town Ventura
and
go into the Irish pub and see others there from the Games.
The hostess was telling us that people kept
asking her what was with all the Kilts and she would simply ask if they
knew
that the Scottish Games were over at the Fairgrounds.
I think she may have secretly wanted to tell them that
Kilts were
the weekend dress code. It was nice
camping that night to the sound of the ocean waves.
The only drawback to the weekend was the wind. Many booths had to abandon their canopies or
got so fed up, they packed up and left the Games early on Saturday and
didn’t
return. Those who did leave, missed a
wonderful weekend, because Sunday was a better day.
Seaside is also fortunate enough to have an Amtrak station
near
the entrance to the Fairgrounds which helps to draw more people to the
Games.
Besides how can you not have fun at a Games venue which has a surfer in
tartan
swimsuit trunks and a tartan covered surf board on their logo? Michael and Izzy before Parade of Clans  Steve standing by the wiond blown booth. Ours survived the onslaught. As with many things
that you do for the first
time and have a great experience with, the 2008 Games season will
always be
special to me. I believe we recruited,
either directly or indirectly, 7 or more new members.
All of whom will be valuable assets to our group. With
each new
venue we saw familiar faces and met new ones.
I look forward to seeing “old” friends at the 2009 events
and I can’t
wait to continue meeting Clan MacLennan family members throughout the
West. I cannot wait until the season
starts and I get to have a whole lot of fun again.
March 13-15 2009 Sonora Celtic Faire Sonora CA www.sonoracelticfaire.com April 25-26 2009 Sacramento Valley Games & Gathering Woodland CA www.saccallie.org May 30-31 2009 Highland Gathering & Games Costa Mesa CA www.unitedscottishsociety.com June 20 2009 Campbell Highland Games Campbell CA www.campbellgames.com September 5-6 2009 Caledonian Club of S.F. Highland Games Pleasanton CA www.caledonian.org September 19 2009 Fresno Highland Games Fresno CA www.scottishsociety.org October 10-11 2009 Seaside Scottish Highland Games Ventura CA www.seaside-games.com Other potential locations for 2009 (check back with the Clan Caendar pages for final dates): April 4 2009 Kern County Scottish Gathering & Games Bakersfield CA www.kernscot.com May 16-17 2009 Livermore Scottish Games Livermore CA www.livermoregames.com June 6 2009 Modesto Games & Gathering Modesto CA www.standrewmodesto.org July 25-26 2009 Seattle Scottish Highland Games Enumclaw Expo Ctr WA www.sshga.org August 1-2 2009 Monterey Highland Games Monterey CA www.montereyscotgames.com October 3 2009 Reno NV Celtic Celebration OR Ben Lomond CA I look forward to hearing from you and seeing you at the Games. Eileen MacLennan Johnson |
This page maintained by David A Jones