Shamlog

When you’re six-foot-six and carry a sword, who cares if your favorite color is purple?

Terry Kilpatrick has loads of Celtic family history, and he’ll tell you there’s more to his traditional clothing than meets the eye.

By Karen Cotton
kcotton@wyomingnews.com

Terry Kilpatrick towers over six feet six inches tall - a funny sight when coupled with a kilt.

But he wears his family’s colors proudly as well as the heavy two-handed claymore sword strapped to his back.

Much like Kilpatrick, other Scots and Irishmen and women will dress to the nines in traditional garb for the three-day Cheyenne Celtic Musical Arts Festival.

The festival takes place in downtown Cheyenne at the Cheyenne Depot Plaza.

Kilpatrick offered to demonstrate how a Scot draws a blade.

His sword made a loud clinking sound as he pulled it from the scabbard.

Apparently, traditional Scottish warriors were little used in office settings as he nearly took out the wall behind him with the long, hefty blade.

He showed how the three-inch-wide sword once was used in combat to run someone through and said the edges weren’t sharpened because they would crack upon impact.

Kilpatrick likes buying items that relate to his family heritage, which is why he got hooked on the Estes Park Longs Peak Scottish and Irish Highland Festival a while ago.

“I wanted one here,” he said of Cheyenne’s Celtic Musical Arts Festival that is in its second year and has doubled in size.

The other two originators of the festival are Mary and Jim Angell, along with the help of Bob Bradshaw, projects director for the City of Cheyenne.

Jim and Kilpatrick are both members of Musical Chairs, one of the festival’s headliners, along with Ceol Ceili, Canned Haggis, The Molly Magpies, Gobs O’ Phun and Claddagh.

“I’ve been in Musical Chairs forever,” Kilpatrick said.

He plays the bass guitar and a small accordion in the group.

He wrote the song, “Emerald Shore” that is loosely based on Scottish/Irish history.

The band recorded it a month ago, but their album won’t be out until next year.

Kilpatrick said that there’s enough of a Scottish and Irish influence in Cheyenne that he knew a festival like this would fly here.

He said he and a friend took out a Wyoming map once and took a look at street names and places.

Names popped out such as Douglas, Campbell and Scottsbluff that definitely have Celtic roots.

He continued to explain the significance of his garb.

That’s not a purse he’s wearing at the front of his kilt - it’s a sporran, a flask for Scotch. In the middle of the flask, he pulled out a built-in shot glass.

The Scots definitely do some things right.

His sock dagger has a purple jewel on top of it and is called a Skean Dhu Dirk Dagger. Purple is Kilpatrick’s favorite color. And as long as he has a dagger, who’s going to argue the point?

“When you wear these, you put them in the sock of your dominant hand, so mine lies in the left,” he said.

Every bit of his clothing represents the clans he belongs to.

“That’s why people seem mismatched, they’re representing their families,” Kilpatrick said.

His last name, Kilpatrick is a sept of two clans, Clan Douglass and Clan Colquhoun.

A sept is a subdivision of a clan that a clan chief adopts as their clan.

Kilpatrick’s background is full of Scottish and Irish clans: Colquhoun, Douglas, Patterson, Bell and O’Maoaine.

“There is more to our clothing than meets the eye,” he said.

His tam, or hat, had a pin in it with the phrase, “Sije Puis,” which means, “If I Can.” That’s his Clan motto.

“I can’t wait for the festival to get here: I’m like a kid during Christmas,” Kilpatrick said. “We put so much time into planning and getting it all together. I can’t wait to see it unfold.”

The Cheyenne Celtic

Musical Arts Festival

The former Union Pacific Depot is where Celts will be able to find out genealogical information about their clans.

The festival will include Scottish and Irish dancing with local and regional dancing groups.

Stonehouse Grille from Fort Collins will sell authentic haggis at the event.

The Plains Hotel will sell Scotch eggs, which Jim said, are hardboiled eggs that are packed in sausage and fried on a stick.

The Plains Hotel also will host Scotch tasting on June 30.

The Wyoming Tribune-Eagle’s Fridays on the Plaza concert series will feature the Indulgers, a band with heavy Celtic influences.

Mary said people in Cheyenne haven’t witnessed a calling of the clans before, which will take place June 29.

Historically speaking, clans would be called together to unite for a war or something of an equally important nature, Jim said.

The calling of the clans involved a big bonfire and each chieftain of the clan would be called to the fire.

But that was Europe - and several centuries ago. Here in Cheyenne, they’ll have a small fire that will be regulated by the fire department.

This Celtic festival also includes free music workshops from bodhran, or Irish drum making, to fiddle playing, which will all take place at the Plains Hotel on June 30.

Cheyenne Celtic Musical Arts Festival schedule

When: June 29-July 1

Where: Cheyenne Depot Plaza

June 29

5:30-8 p.m. Wyoming Tribune-Eagle’s Fridays on the Plaza concert series with The Indulgers

8:30-9:30 p.m. Canned Haggis

9:30-10 p.m. Calling of the Clans with Bob Armstrong

10-11 p.m. Canned Haggis and Musical Chairs jam

June 30

10 a.m. Mass pipe band marching from 17th and Capitol to the Cheyenne Depot Plaza. A Stage (Main Plaza Stage)

10:30-11 a.m. The City of Denver Pipe Band (with dancers)

11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Celtic jam

1-2 p.m. The Kilted Celts

2:15-3 p.m. Colorado El Jebel Pipes and Drums

4-6 p.m. Ceol Ceili

8-10 p.m. Musical Chairs. B Stage (under a tent)

11:15-11:45 a.m. Scottish Pride Highland Dance School of Cheyenne

11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Dep. Ray Nelson poetry reading

1:30-2:30 p.m. Reed School of Irish Dance

2:45-3:15 p.m. En Avant Dance Studio of Cheyenne

3:30-4 p.m. Kelly Davis - poetry reading

Celtic instrument workshops

1-2 p.m. Mark Hill, bodhran workshop

2-3 p.m. Sarah Clements, fiddle workshop

3 p.m. Dance workshop conducted by the Scottish

Country Dancers of Colorado

Where: All workshops are held at the Plains Hotel, 1600 Central Ave. Call 638-3311.

Scotch tasting

When: June 30, 7 p.m.

Where: Plains Hotel

More info: $40 per ticket - limited space available, tickets available at the Plains Hotel. Call 638-3311 ext. 4603.

July 1

A Stage

10-10:30 a.m. Kirking of the Tartans, Father Bob Spencer

11-11:45 a.m. Seamus & Andy (Tom and Jake McIntosh of Cheyenne) (duo)

12:30-2:30 p.m. Claddagh

3-5 p.m. Gobs of Phun B Stage

11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The Molly Magpies (duo)

12:30 p.m. Jennifer and Marianne Goodland

More info: Everything at the Cheyenne Celtic Musical Arts

Festival is free with the exception of the Scotch tasting. Call the Cheyenne Depot Museum 632-3905, Jim and Mary Angell,

635-3498. The festival is sponsored by a grant from the Wyoming Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Cheyenne Downtown Development Authority, and the Cheyenne Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The annual Major League Soccer All-Star game takes place on Thurs 19th of July at Dick’s Sporting Good Park outside Denver. The Glasgow Celtic soccer team is traveling along with 8,000 of their fans from Scotland, Ireland and all over. The night before the game, The Indulgers will play the Colorado Celtic Supporters Club welcoming party at Casey’s in Stapleton. It will be the party of the summer, get there early on Wed 18th for all the fun.

How much is a gazillion, exactly?
SDSTAFF Dex replies:

Million, billion, trillion, quadrillion, quintillion, sextillion, septillion, octillion, novillion, decillion . . . lessee, a decillion is:

1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

. . . so there ain’t no gazillion, it’s right up there with zillion, bijillion, and uncountabillion . . . a made-up term.

Just so you know, here’s the list of “named illions”:

Billion has 9 zeros
Trillion has 12 zeros
Quadrillion has 15 zeros
Quintillion has 18 zeros
Sextillion has 21 zeros
Septillion has 24 zeros
Octillion has 27 zeros
Nonillion has 30 zeros
Decillion has 33 zeros
Undecillion has 36 zeros
Duodecillion has 39 zeros
Tredecillion has 42 zeros
Quattuordecillion has 45 zeros
Quindecillion has 48 zeros
Sexdecillion has 51 zeros
Septendecillion has 54 zeros
Octodecillion has 57 zeros
Novemdecillion has 60 zeros
Vigintillion has 63 zeros
Googol has 100 zeros.
Centillion has 303 zeros (except in Britain, where it has 600 zeros)
Googolplex has a googol of zeros

By The News-Record staff

Gillette residents can get in touch with their inner Irishman or Scotsman during the Wyoming Celtic Festival Highland Games next weekend.

For six years, Gillette has been home to the festival, which has taught residents the culture and history of the Celtic culture.

This year’s festival will bring back the popular events like the Celtic Dog Parade, the men’s and women’s athletic competitions and plenty of food to eat and music to dance to.

Some of the athletics include:

- The caber toss, which involves throwing a 90- to 100-pound log up in the air to land with the large end on the ground.

- The haggis toss, which is based on the tradition of women tossing lunch across a stream to hungry husbands. The winner throws it the farthest.

- The hammer toss, in which a weight with a wood handle that is spun for momentum and thrown.

- The wellie toss, the sheaf toss and the stone throw, all of which involve tossing items of different weights.

The featured performers will include The Indulgers, Gobs O’Phun, The Muses and the Renaissance Scots.

The festival will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 23-24 at Cam-plex Park.

Tickets are $6 for a day or $10 for the whole experience. Children age 9 and younger are free.

Register for the dog parade and athletics by calling 689-1057, or for more information visit www.wyomingcelticfestival.org.

We’ve discovered a shot taken back in March at Fado’s.

13,000 folks partied hardy on a great day in Denver. The picture shows the dancers from St. Brendan’s just in front of the outdoor stage. Thanks to Irish Row Records for the permission to show this picture.

The Pope was visiting New York , so the Cardinal sends a limo to JFK to bring him into the city. After getting all of Pope Benedict’s luggage loaded into the limousine (and he doesn’t travel lightly), the chauffeur notices that the Pope is still standing on the curb.

Chauffeur: “Excuse me, Your Holiness, would you please take your seat now so we can leave?”

They never let me drive at the Vatican since when I was a Cardinal, and I’d really like to drive today.”

Chauffeur: “I’m sorry, Your Holiness, but I cannot let you do that. I’d lose my job, and what if something should happen?” protests the driver, wishing he’d never gone to work that morning.

“Who’s going to tell?” says the Pope with a smile. Reluctantly, the chauffeur gets in the back as the Pope climbs in behind the wheel. The driver quickly regrets his decision when, after exiting the airport, the Pontiff floors it, accelerating to 105 mph (remember, he’s German!).

Chauffeur: “Please slow down, Your Holiness!”
The Pope keeps the pedal to the metal until they hear sirens.

Chauffeur: “Oh, dear God, I’m going to lose my license–and my job!”

The Pope pulls over and rolls down the window as the cop approaches, but the cop takes one look at him, goes back to his motorcycle, and gets on the radio.

Cop: “I need to talk to the Chief,” he says to the dispatcher.

The Chief gets on and the cop tells him that he’s stopped a limo going 105.

“So bust him,” says the Chief

Cop: “I don’t think we want to do that, he’s really important.”

Chief: “All the more reason!”

Cop: “No, I mean really important.”

The Chief then asked, “Who do you have there, the mayor?”

Cop: “Bigger.”

Chief: “A senator?”

Cop: “Bigger.”

Chief: “The Prime Minister?”

Cop: “Bigger.”

“Well,” said the Chief, “who is it?”

Cop: I think it’s God

The Chief is even more puzzled and curious, “What makes you think it’s God?”

Cop: “His chauffeur is the Pope.”

So this is what he looks like.

Those who live and work in Parker know that you haven?t truly experienced the town until you?ve been to the Parker Country Festival, a signature event of the Parker Chamber of Commerce! Complete with a carnival, homespun crafts, good food and plenty of FREE live music, the festival offers three action-packed days of activities for the entire family. The 2007 Parker Country Festival is scheduled for June 8, 9 and 10. The Parker Country Festival will be located in O’Brien Park in Downtown Parker, on the northeast corner of Parker Road and Mainstreet.

A combination of beautiful Colorado weather, rides and games, FREE live entertainment and more than 150 fun-filled arts and crafts booths in the Market Place provide the community with a fantastic weekend of fun. A special area known as Kids Country features special activities for children, such as a rock climbing wall, unique bounce houses, and a petting zoo. Saturday morning of the Festival ushers in the traditional hometown parade. Each year, Mainstreet and Victorian Drive is lined with families enjoying a variety of parade entries, including floats, marching bands, horses and vintage cars. Several civic organizations and nonprofit groups host special events as well, such as community pancake breakfasts. A great way to get involved in your community is to volunteer at the Festival! For nearly 30 years, the Parker Country Festival has been the signature summer event of the Parker Chamber of Commerce, uniting Parker in community pride. With more than 90,000 people in attendance each year, it’s an event that simply cannot be missed!

L

Local Boulder resident and former Wayfarer, Jessie Burns has jumped on-board the Gaelic Storm musical voyage.

Outstanding fiddler and a great addition. Jessie checked in with “Shamrocker” from MS where she was tearing it up with Pat, Steve and crew. Hopefully she’ll have a tour stop here in the next few months with the band in Colorado.