Cape Fear Valley Scottish Festival [1]

Cape Fear Valley Scottish Festival

by Wiley J. Williams, 2006

See also: Highland Scots; [2]Argyll Colony [3]; Scottish Settlers [4]; Highland Games [5]

The Cape Fear Valley Scottish Festival, held in Fayetteville [6] on 19-24 Nov. 1939, commemorated the 200th anniversary of the arrival of the Scottish Highlanders in the Cape Fear Valley as well as the 150th anniversary of North Carolina's ratification of the U.S. Constitution [7], the cession of the western lands that became Tennessee, and the chartering of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill [8]. Dignitaries including Governor Clyde R. Hoey [9] spoke at the festival, but its lasting legacy was that playwright Paul Green [10] wrote The Highland Call, [11] the second of his outdoor "symphonic dramas," for the occasion. The play dealt with the Scottish settlement in the Cape Fear Valley and was a blend of history, music, spectacle, and social commentary. A second Scottish festival was held from 14 Oct. to 2 Nov. 1940, but despite ongoing interest in Cumberland County [12]'s Scottish heritage, the festival did not remain an annual event, being overshadowed by similar festivals elsewhere in the state.

References:

Emily Ann Colandson, Scottish Highland Games in America (1986).

John A. Oates, The Story of Fayetteville and the Upper Cape Fear (3rd ed., 1981).

Additional Resources:

The Cape Fear Valley Scottish Festival, City Auditorium, Fayetteville, N.C., Souvenir Program, Second Autumn Season, October 14-November 2, 1940: http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Cape_Fear_Valley_Scottish_Festival_C.html?id=y17FMAAACAAJ [13]

Subjects:

Great Depression (1929-1941) [14]

Culture [15]

Events [16]

UNC Press [17]

Authors:

Williams, Wiley J. [18]

Origin - location:

Fayetteville [19]

From:

Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press. [20]

1 January 2006 | Williams, Wiley J.