by Rod Village, President of Clan Hay of America

Cathy Village, Ron Capistrano, Larry Hay, Rod Village, Travis and Crystal Senter at Colorado Tartan Day

The Tartan Day Celebration was held in Arvada’s McIlvoy Park, again this year. We had really good weather which contributed to it being a wonderful day.  The Tartan Day Celebration is finally catching on here in Colorado, due to the hard work and dedication of the people supporting it.  This year there were 19 Clans that set up tents and welcomed people that attended.

They also explained the meaning of Tartan Day, the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath, tartans and the structure of the different Clans.  Clan Hay was there with a tent and we had a number of people stop by to trace their ancestry and a few people dropped by that had Clan Hay ancestry.

We got them to sign our book and hope they will become members.

There were a good number of vendors this year, which was nice for the Clans as well as the visitors. There was entertainment all day with re-enactments of many battles with swords, battleaxes and other weapons. .  Spectators were encouraged to grab a weapon and join in. Some of the wee ones had a grand time declaring war on their fathers. The dads seemed to enjoy it as much as the children did. There was also food and whisky tasting, Pipe Bands and several ceremonies to commemorate the day.

The Clan Hay people that attended are shown in the picture.  From left to right is Cathy Village, Ron Capistrano, Larry Hay, Rod Village, Travis and Crystal Senter.  Ron is the Convener for Colorado and Travis is the Assistant Convener for Colorado.  Cathy is Clan Hay’s secretary, Larry is the treasurer and Rod is the President.