The 69th Grandfather Mountain Highland Games ran Thursday, July 10 through Sunday, July 13, 2025, and camp on the Meadow filled up the way it does every year: early arrivals jockeying for the 11 p.m. side, long hoses snaking to the water points, and the smell of Avery County firewood by Thursday night.
On the field
- Honored Clan: Clan MacLaren, with Tanist Florian MacLaren serving as Chieftain of the Games. Distinguished Clan: Clan MacAlister.
- 109 clans and 18 educational and cultural societies set up along the field.
- Men’s heavy athletics: Eric Frasure took the overall title, coming back from a retirement that ran from 2016 until May 2025. He has been coming to the Games since 1998.
- Women’s heavy athletics: Kendra Danzer won overall in her first time competing at Grandfather, taking first in four of the seven events.
- Seven Nations headlined the Celtic Rock Concert, celebrating their 30th-anniversary album with some former members, and the Seán Heely Band led the traditional music.
- The Scottish Cultural Village marked its 10th year, with talks on the Burns Supper, whisky, Macbeth, Gaelic in the Carolinas and the Darien scheme.
Photos from the Meadow
Sources: Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, 2025 announcement; Eric Frasure release; Kendra Danzer release.
