2018 Highland Games & Celtic Festival

The 24th annual Sarasota Highland Games & Celtic Festival was held on Saturday, January 27, at the Sarasota County Fairgrounds. The day started out chilly with a brisk wind, but by late morning had evolved into another very pleasant occasion on the Suncoast. As in previous years there was much to see: Scottish athletic competition, Scottish and Irish dancing, pipe bands, border collie sheep herding demonstrations and bands in the beer tent. And also a wide variety of “ethnic” food choices for lunch.
Including a late arriving MINI, we had another excellent turnout with 22 cars this year. The display presented a great cross section of British motor cars spanning nine decades of manufacturing, from Bob Faria’s 1932 Austin 7 Boat Tail to Kathleen Cook’s 2010 MINI Cooper S convertible. Notable among the group was Ron McLeod’s 1970 Marcos Mantis, one of only 32 made! We were a part of the entertainment and our British car display was sited in a great location. It gave us maximum exposure to the Festival visitors and lots of them dropped by to take photos and for “car talk.”
The Games judges awarded club members the following ribbons:
Blue ribbon: Bruce Skaggs – 1980 Triumph TR-7
Red ribbon: Lionel Hill – 1962 MGA (from the British Car Club
of Southwest Florida)
White ribbon: Ron McLeod – 1970 Marcos Mantis

There was a large and appreciative crowd at the festival and everyone had a great time.

Photos by the author.

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