Sacramento Valley Scottish Games

The luck of the Irish to you on Friday the 13th!

Some of the Riggity Jiggers will be joining in for the fiddlers' jam at the Scottish Games in Woodland, April 28 and 29. It's a fun event with great music, a parade of Scottish beasts, and fantastic opportunities to spend American dollars on Scottish foods, goods, and crafts. I love to hear the skirl of the pipes. Some folks say the reason a bagpiper walks when he plays is that he's trying to get away from the awful noise, but I think it's that walking is the closest a player can come to dancing and still get music out of the thing.

Whether you're a pipe band enthusiast, a big weight-over-the-bar fan, or you just like the look of a manly skirt, you're sure to have a good time at the games.

Gourd Festival upcoming . . .

Recent surveys confirm that many people who like Celtic music also have a fondness for large, dried, inedible vegetables. So what could be more natural than for Riggity Jig to play at the Fifth Annual Spring Gourd Art Festival, May 19 and 20, in Knights Landing?

Greg and Mary Leiser host the festival every spring at Greg Leiser Farms, where you can admire and buy gourds and gourd art, and even learn how to make gourd art for yourself. Mary grew up in the Northeast listening to Cape Breton music, so we'll do our best to remind her of those days.

All-day parking is $2.00, but admission is free and you can bring a picnic lunch or pick up a meal from an on-site vendor.

All in all, sounds like gourd, clean fun, no? Plan to make a day of it!

For more information, go to http://www.gourdfarmer.com/festival_2007 (somehow this won't work as a link, so just type it into your browser and take a look).