Scotts Bluff Celtic Gathering
By Rodger Hara

In 1822, when he was 17 years old, Hiram Scott was a member of the first expedition sent out by the Rocky Mountain Fur Company along the Missouri River. He continued to travel the west as one of the early mountain men/fur traders until 1828 when he fell ill and passed away on the banks of the North Platte River near the rock formations that now bear his name.
Those rocks in the western part of Nebraska are the first signs of the changing topography encountered by pioneers as they moved west and it was through an opening in the wall of the rocks that thousands of wagon trains passed on their way to Oregon.

Nearly 200 years after his death, the Bluff and rocks that comprise it have become the setting for a Gathering of Scots. From June 28th – 30th, Scottish clans, pipers and athletes will come together for the 3rd Annual Scotts Bluff Celtic Gathering in Gering, Nebraska. Only a 3-hour drive from Denver, the Gathering will offer an amazing musical lineup, with Colorado festival crowd favorites the commoners, Indigent Row, the Killigans, Once Upon a Tune, Avourneen, and Jamie Cuthill on the bagpipes. The Renaissance Scots will bring their full crew to demonstrate what life was like in 18th century Scotland. There will be whisky tastings, an art show, a Highland Games demonstration, an after-festival party featuring the Killigans, and fun family events for young and old alike at the Five Rocks Amphitheater, a venue that provides view of the Scotts Bluff National Monument and Eagle, Crown, Dome, Saddle and Sentinel Rocks, for which the Amphitheater is named. The neighboring Roubideaux Campground, within walking distance of the festival grounds, offers onsite camping. For more information go to http://scottsbluffcelticgathering.com/.