Each year new Highland games and Scottish festivals appear. There must more than 250 of them now in the U.S., with less than half affiliated with the Association of Scottish Games and Festivals. Some events are small, attracting just 1,000 - 2,000 people. The average size of an established games is 5,000 - 7,000. On the other hand, a few Highland Games -- such as Grandfather Mountain, Stone Mountain, and New Hampshire -- may boast of drawing as many as 20,000 to 40,000 people over a three-day weekend.
Whether small or large, all the successful games share common elements of success. We share with you the 12 most important factors for successful Highland games and festivals.
1. Large Public Attendance. So that the obvious does not go unmentioned, the single most important factor for the success of a Scottish event is public attendance. Certainly the organizers and their family and friends should enjoy their own games, but to sustain them year after year you have to attract the larger public. This includes both members of the Scottish-American community nationwide and the local population. Scottish games and festivals are not just for the pleasure of Scottish-Americans, but the general American public, too.
Attendance first means revenues. Unless heavily subsidized by donations, games and festivals live or die on their revenues, which are principally produced by the attending public. The simple truth is “no people, no event.”
The first, but often not the principal source of revenue from public attendance is the gate from the price of admission. A small event might charge $2.00 per person (normally young children with adults are admitted free). If it attracts only 2,000 people, then the gate will be a modest $4,000. But if the games attract as many as 10,000 people, then the gate can then be as high as $20,000, which should be enough to cover all expenses, fund a modest cause, and still provide some seed money for next year’s event. Successful games are the ones that cover all their out-of-pocket expenses (with labor typically donated) and generate a positive balance for the future.
The large games can realize large amounts of money. For example, if the price of admission were as high as $7.00 per adult and the games attracted as many as 30,000 paying adults, then the gate would be as high as $210,000! Large games generate large sums of money, which can be reinvested to produce yet larger games in the future. It is not always true that the best games are the largest ones, but the size of the crowd and the amount of the gate are indeed the leading metrics of success in Highland games as in any special event.
To attract the general public, the price of admission should not be prohibitively high for a family. Many will attend as a family outing. A typical price is $5.00 per adult with children (pre-adolescents) under 12 or 13 free. The price limit may be around $10.00 per adult, depending on admission to one or two days of activities. Some games will charge a nominal fee of just $1.00 or $2.00 to attract people. Some events are even free. The point is to make admission easy and attractive...
Because the bigger money lies elsewhere. Most events, Scottish or otherwise, do not make money on just the gate. Once inside, people will spend more money on refreshments and souvenirs. The primary reason to attract large numbers of people is to allow them to spend freely on soft drinks, lunches, snacks, beer, T-shirts, and various mementos.
To take an example from another industry to make the point, movie theaters rarely make money on the price of admission for people to see movies; rather, the theaters make money on popcorn, candy, and soft drinks -- of which people consume large quantities even at inflated prices (and big profit margins).
This example extends to musicals, plays, concerts, the circus, and any other special occasions. Again, the gate is often not the most important source of revenues. Admission prices are typically low in order to attract lots of people, especially families. The “real” money is made in selling food and beverages, programs, T-shirts, sweatshirts, posters, toys, cassettes, CDs, video tapes, and various souvenirs. Successful Highland games do likewise.
Therefore, it is vital for the games organization to control the food and beverage concessions at their event. “Control” might mean that the organization operates its own concessions; it might also mean a contract to professional food and drink vendors at a substantial fee or a percentage. In addition, programs (especially containing paid advertising) and “official” games souvenirs can realize surprising amounts of cash.
Large attendance also attracts secondary sources of revenues: clan tent and merchandise vendor rents. The number of other organizations and businesses willing to support a Highland games is directly related to the size of the crowd expected. To operate more than three years, a games must attract at least 5,000 people for a single day or it risks going out of business for lack of interest.
Many of the other elements of success reinforce the central point that successful Highland games and festivals are the ones that are well attended year after year.
2. Publicity. To continue with the obvious first, well attended games are well known and well publicized. The well established games have their reputations to fall upon -- the benefit of years of investment in successful operations and sustained attendance figures. But the newer games have greater competition to attract people. If the public is not already familiar with the event and it has not yet won its own annual following, then a games has to be well advertised. To attract the nationwide Scottish-American crowd, you need to place ads in the major publications, including The Highlander, The Scottish Banner, and U.S. Scots. You also should advertise through the many clan society and heritage association newsletters. To attract the local population, advertise in local newspapers. The weekly community newspapers can be particularly helpful with free news releases as well as advertising. TV and radio coverage is also very helpful.
Another way to publicize a games is to hold promotional events prior to the games as a “teaser” to attract attention to the event. Such events include educational visits to schools, parades, and visits to civic and church groups.
If people do not know about your games, they are not likely to attend them. Well attended games are heavily promoted, as are special events in general.
3. Easy Accessibility and Parking. To attract and accommodate large crowds, Scottish games and festivals require a geographically easy place to find. Events must be accessible. And since most people will come by car, there must also be adequate parking.
Stone Mountain State Park is an example of a nearly perfect site. It is in the metropolitan Atlanta area about 30-40 minutes from the airport. It is just off an interstate. Parking has been expanded to allow people to park near the grounds. In contrast, Grandfather Mountain is remotely situated in the North Carolina mountains and the games grounds are placed in a small meadow on the side of the mountain. Parking is remote and the access roads are inadequate to handle the heavy traffic. Stone Mountain could continue to grow, but Grandfather Mountain has already outgrown its traditional site.
Most successful games are situated at county fairgrounds, state and Federal parks, and college campuses. The reason is clear: these types of facilities are accustomed to handling large crowds, many cars, and special events.
It is perfectly fair to charge for parking at special events. People expect to pay for good parking, up to $3.00 per vehicle. By providing good parking and charging for it, a games organization can nearly double its gate.
4. Adequate Facilities. In addition to easy accessibility and adequate parking, the games organization must provide suitable facilities for all the elements of the games: athletic competition, piping, dancing, clan tents, vendors, etc. The successful games provide a central athletic field bordered by tents. Some of the best games put up the tents for at least the clans and sometimes also the vendors. The better the infrastructure, then the better the means for all participants. Adequate facilities also mean cover in case of rain, which destroys many carefully planned events.
While mountains are always scenic for Highland games, on the side of a mountain is usually not. Games should be laid out on flat ground. Grandfather Mountain and Loon Mountain provide too little open space, and therefore always seem unnecessarily packed. Stone Mountain and Estes Park, on the other hand, provide games on flat ground at the base of mountains. Mountains are good for climbing, but not for circulating during a Highland games.
5. Good Weather. A critical factor in the success of too many games is good weather. On a bright, sunny, warm, and dry day, many people may attend just to be outside enjoying the good weather. Conversely, bad weather (rain, winds, and cold) can keep away both Scottish enthusiasts and the general public. While a games organization has no control over the weather, it can provide suitable facilities for both outdoor and indoor events.
One can never guarantee good weather. But a games organization can do some planning to avoid disasters. The date should be set for the “good” seasons, typically late spring through mid-autumn. Planning an outdoor event in Ohio, for example, before May 1 is just asking for trouble. On the other hand, mid-September to mid-October is the perfect season when the weather is often warm and dry.
To cope with the periodic bad weather, games organizations must have backup indoor facilities. This is true for dancing and musical competitions; it is also true for athletics and bands. A Highland games can be ruined by bad weather, so the organizers must have contingency plans to prevent disaster. To cancel or postpone a games due to bad weather, including mud and flood, is to take a serious financial risk. Therefore, successful games provide buildings or big tents on high ground to protect against the elements.
6. Smart Scheduling. Consideration of the seasons and weather trends leads to another factor for successful games -- picking the best dates. One factor, as already mentioned, is the typical weather for a time of year. Another factor is to avoid conflicts that might distract potential crowds. One should avoid scheduling a games at the same time as another Scottish games within about 200 miles. Also, conflicting festivals, fairs, and ball games must be avoided. Successful games are well timed.
7. Competitions. Highland games are typically more successful than Scottish festivals. The simple reason is that they offer excitement, activity, and entertainment. The athletic games are unique. The caber toss is always very popular. Piping competitions also attract a lot of attention, both bands and individual matches. Dancing competitions are also important, but they do not attract the general audience that the bands do. Larger games host competitions in fiddling, harping, and other talents. In addition to the traditional Highland athletic events, rugby matches are also becoming popular at the games.
As a rule, the higher the caliber of competitors and the higher the honors, then the larger the crowd appeal. A successful games will attract at least Grade II bands. Professional and Grade I pipe and drum bands are very exciting and usually worth the investment. Grades III and IV competitions are all right and certainly better than no pipe band competitions at all.
The same can also be said for dancing, harping, and fiddle competitions: the higher the honor, the bigger the prizes, then the better the quality of competitors and the more people who will pay to witness them.
The successful games stage international, national, and regional competitions with highly desirable trophies. Cash prizes would attract even better competition.
8. Entertainment. If festivals do not offer competitions, then they must provide lots of other forms of entertainment. Successful games offer both. In addition to the entertainment value of the competitions, games offer singing, music, and dancing. People expect a day’s worth of entertainment. It is now common for games to provide a traditional ceilidh after the principal day of activities.
9. Clan Tents. The participation of clan societies and Scottish heritage associations can play a major role in the success of a games. They need the exposure to recruit new members. They have the organization and modest budgets to participate in games. At a minimum, there should be at least 20 organizations with tents -- the large games have as many as 50. Tent or space rental is usually modest, even free. Each tent may be staffed with five to 25 members, so the clan and association tents themselves attract attendance. For the general public, the clan tents provide a means to look up the historical origins of a surname, perhaps even to locate lost relatives. Clan tents attract attention, so they are an asset to a good games just as the competitions and entertainment are.
10. Vendors. In addition to the clan and association tents, vendors’ tents also attract attendance. Vendors provide Highland regalia, collectibles, and uniquely Scottish souvenirs. People will go to a games to shop, just as they expect to shop at a fair or a show. Numerous and high quality vendors contribute to the appeal of a games. They are also accustomed to paying the “going rate” for space (a higher rent than the clan societies are willing to pay).
11. Good Organization and Planning. The best games are the ones that are carefully planned and organized. Structure is the path to achieving goals. The experienced games organizations know how much time, effort, and money go into great games -- the new games have to learn by painful experience. A good organization has decisive leadership. It has committees assigned functional responsibilities. It has periodic meetings to check progress in achieving planning milestones. Each part of the games organization knows what to do and gets its work done.
12. Good People. Good games, like good companies, are made by good people. “Good” here means people committed to achieving their games goals, who accept and fulfill assignments, and who are easy to work with. They are typically intelligent people with high