The 10th annual Covenanter Scottish Festival and Highland Games will be held on Saturday, Sept. 9, at Middle Octorara Presbyterian Church, 1199 Valley Road, Quarryville. The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and it will feature a variety of live music, games, demonstrations and other traditional activities to celebrate Scottish culture and history.

Throughout the day, musical groups such as Charlie Zahm and Tad Marks, Fire in the Glen, the Philadelphia and District Pipe Band and Regimental Pipes and Drums will perform arrangements of Scottish music. Traditional instruments such as the bagpipe will be highlighted during the performances.

The festival's attendees will have an opportunity to participate the Highland Games, which will include a "caber toss." During this activity, contenders will balance a large and heavy wooden pole as they attempt to flip it onto its opposite end. The Highland Games will also feature contests for Scottish dancers and bagpipers, where performers will showcase their talents before a panel of judges for a chance to earn medals.

Multiple demonstrations will be held throughout the day, which will include sheepherding, spinning and weaving. A variety of vendors and Scottish clans will operate stands at the festival to sell merchandise and refreshments, as well as to offer informational resources on Scottish history.

During the festival, a ceremony will be held to honor veterans of the Vietnam War and remember those who have served in the military. Each year, the event also incorporates a traditional haggis ceremony to provide information on the rare dish as it is served alongside Scotch whiskey.

The Covenanter Scottish Festival serves as one of the largest fundraisers for the Octorara Covenanter Presbyterian Church. It was started by the Octorara Covenanter Presbyterian Foundation in 2013 as a way to acquire the funds necessary to restore and maintain the church campus, which is known as the oldest Covenanter church in North America. The majority of the foundation's profits from last year's festival have been used for the general upkeep of the building, due to a few setbacks in the restoration process. The foundation began to replace the electrical wiring of the structure earlier in the year, but it halted the project after encountering a colony of bats.

Attached to the church is the school room museum, which is curated by former foundation president Barry Girvin. The museum houses a collection of artifacts and documents from Scotland that were brought to Pennsylvania by settlers in the 18th century. The museum also contains records of families and students from the many schools that once populated the Southern End, which date back from the 19th century up until the formation of the Solanco School District. Before the it was converted into a museum, the building served as Bart Township's high school.

"(The museum) has a wide range of history on the Covenanter Church, Middle Octorara and many other churches and schools that were in the area," Girvin said. "We have some artifacts from them that are quite unusual." Girvin hopes to have the museum open for tours by the day of the festival.

For more information, visit http://www.covenanterscottishfestival.com.