I've never heard so many bagpipes in the USA as I did here. This place has the most Scotland stuff you'll ever experience outside of Scotland itself. As soon as you park, all you hear is bagpipes. Walking throughout the festival, the sound of bagpipes echoing. Lots of food stands, lots of shopping for Scottish merch, Scottish games, and info on some of the clans. read more

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First time going to this event and I had a great time. Lots of vendors and performances to see and listen too. The food tho is imo, crazy expensive for the small portions you are getting. The scotch pie taste good but small. Scones taste ok but kinda dry. Haggis I'm not a fan of and it kinda taste like liver pate with something strong which I dont like. Scottish egg taste pretty and reminds me of either McDonald's mcgriddle or mcmuffin which I can't quite remember. Love the couple of bands I listen too and love the energy they bring out. I also see a lot of people wearing kilts which is cool. Ngl, I thought this event will lean into viking but it lean more to Scottish hence the name of the event. Overall, I had a great time and thankful for giving a chance to this event. read more

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Fun event but go early because there are really not enough concessions for the number of attendees and you'll be in lune for food all day. Expensive. read more

The need to clean the venue the place was dirty and Not well managed and organized there are events that play over each other also the food was not that great if you want to get the true experience go to Scotland yourself read more

In my opinion, these are the best Scottish games in all of California. The way it is configured with wonderful vendors: food, drink, clothing, merchandise is above all others. Everything is easy to find. Great Pipe Bands, athletics, highland dancing, herding and rock & celtic bands fill the atmosphere with excitement! I love the whisky tasting section and clan row where you can find out about any Scottish heritage "you think" you might have, but even if you don't have an ounce of Scottish blood, the ambiance is so welcoming, you'll feel like part of the clan! I highly recommend going! AAA+++ read more

Bagpipes, heavy games, food, whiskey, kilts, lively drums, stilt walkers, more food, mooorre whiskey, live music, all sorts of dancing, adorable sheep-herding dogs, tons of vendors, a fighting arena, a random taco stand lol, and so much more! I had an absolute BLAST at the Scottish Fest this year - and will definitely be back for more next year! First things you see when you enter are tons of tents for all the different clans and then the Highland heavy games arena! The tents are so fun to visit - especially if you're at all interested in learning about all the different clans and their history and lineage - and especially if you have some Scottish lineage of your own! Everyone is so eager to teach you all they can! I learned so much more than I ever thought I could and even managed to find my obscure family's "tartan" pattern (tartan = plaid)! The Highland heavy games are an absolute sight to behold! These crazy strong men are tossing giant trees and boulders around like they're just sticks and stones - it's mind blowing!! And all while wearing their kilts too haha!! And they were still at it even as I was leaving hours later :-o Next you'll walk through the OC fair ground buildings where you'll find tons of vendors offering all-things-Scotland and more! From colorful Celtic decorations, to elf ears, to Welsh tea and cakes, to kilts, bagpipes and even swords!! So many swords lol!! Then back outside again is where you'll find live music stages, food, several whiskey tasting bars, more food, dancing competition stages, all the bagpipe and drum groups practicing, the sheep-herding arena, a kids playground heaven, and even a fighting arena!! I was lucky enough to be just in time for an amazing performance from lovely SoCal Celtic band - Craic InThe Stone (craic is pronounced "crack")...they were just AWESOME!! Definitely a fan now!! They're a local, female-fronted Celtic band with incredible voices and talent - and one heck of a fiddle player omg!! He was just impressive!! I'm surprised I didn't see fire coming out of his strings he was so good LOL!! At each stage, there are signs letting you know the times and line up for the day - there were so many events and different bands to see. I definitely could've stayed the whole day - easily! And then there's the food...I tried the meat pies, a "banger" (a British sausage), some Apple Nachos for dessert, and even a Strawberry Coconut latte. All of it was fantastic - but that meat pie was my fave! And the prices are surprisingly very reasonable considering it's a festival. The only thing that seemed expensive to me were the Fish & Chips - $20 for a portion - but to be fair, the portions were huge! Inside they have a booth offering a Welsh cream tea & cake service. I grabbed some of the cakes to go, complete with jam, lemon curd, and even the Devon cream! Phenomenal!! I stuck around to watch some of the traditional dancing - one was a group dance and was so fun and jolly!! I wanted to get up and join them haha! The other was a competition - I watched some young ladies and even some small children hopping and skipping around swords on the ground!! It was so fun to watch! This Scottish Fest is held every Memorial Day weekend at the OC Fair Grounds. It may seem kinda small when you first walk in - and especially if you get there early in the morning - but once everyone is awake it gets packed and so lively! I came on the Sunday morning and anticipated I would only spend about an hour here - but had so much fun I ended up staying for almost 4 hours!! I would've stayed longer to catch all the piping and drumming shows and Memorial Day parade and show but could only spend my morning here due to other obligations. But that just means I'll have to go back next year haha! There's tons to parking and it's very easy to find. Parking is $10. You can buy tickets at the gate - but if you buy them online, you get a few dollars off the price - I got mine online for $25 - worth every penny! All the staff I encountered were so fun, kind, welcoming, and extremely enthusiastic! Can't say enough about how much I enjoyed it! Will definitely be back next year! read more

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Ok...so I am part scottish, from the walker clan. I've always wondered why I never had much scottish culture in my upbringing when my Italian side of the family was a huge part of it...I wonder no more. What do we know about Scotland? Kilts, haggis, seemingly put of shape strong men throwing rocks, sheep herding and bad dancing (and apparently one mysterious taco cart)...well that is exactly what the fest was. Even the weather comported with general Scotland blandness. It's crazy, there were a really good amount of people, and I enjoyed my time there...its just that scottish food is terrible (there's a reason there are no scottish restaurants). Haggis, meat pies, and bangers...all with the same salty liver seasoning, I think Emeral makes a version. Also, apparently they don't bother printing Walker Clan shirts anymore, thank you Braveheart, because they make a lot more money by just printing out more Wallace ones. The sheep herding and rock throwing (shot put and hammer throw) were all cool events...but u can only watch them so many times. That being said, I don't want to bash my own heritage, but I dont want to be overly boastful about it either. The people that put on this event did a great job and their enthusiasm for scottish culture was pretty great...its just that scottish culture is iffy. You can only do so much with the subject you're presenting...like seriously I have my family clan shield and name tatted on my arm and our credo on the inside...but thats the coolest part of being scottish read more

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Went down to Scottish Festival and it was really fun and entertaining. There was tons of events, I think the Caber Toss was our favorite (The caber toss is a traditional Scottish athletic event in which competitors toss a large tapered pole called a "caber". The caber is usually made from a Larch tree and is typically 19 feet 6 inches (5.94 m) tall and weighs 175 pounds)...yeah not an event for those wee lads. There was also tons of all things Scottish...booths to buy Scottish clothing and items and lots of Scottish food. As usual my favorite was the Welsh Baker that had Welsh cakes and scones and Scotch eggs. We also had some fish and chips that were really good and some beers from one of the booths. All in all a great time and something that we will likely do again next year even though it was a ways from where we live. They had a $2.00 discount online for entrance so that cost us $16.00 and parking was $8.00 per vehicle for cars. read more

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Well, another year gone by and I had a great time as always. Bought a two day ticket and spent all day both days at the festival. Jousting was a new addition and it was fun (if not a bit corny at times). Only complaint was that the vendors seem to be decreasing in number each year and some vendors sell out of products by Sunday. Hope they can find a way to bring back some of the vendors that were present in years past. Can't wait until 2024! read more

We just left Scottish Fair and I already want to go back- What a fantastic event! We arrived early, around 9 am, so parking was a breeze. Parking was $8, I believe. We got to park right across the curb from the ticket booths which was great although even much later in the day, we saw plenty of parking available. We only purchased tickets for Saturday although, next year, I know there is plenty to do for both days and I won't hesitate buying a weekend pass. Ticket processing was an issue. 2 of us had to pick up our tix from will call after we received an email saying they couldn't mail tickets afterall & had them for us in an envelope at the booth. The other 2 people in our group had to purchase tickets; unfortunately their payment processing at the booth had froze and no one let anyone know- they ended up waiting in a dead line for a loooooong time before we found out you can also purchase tickets from Will Call. There was no line there so that was a helpful option. You can buy a Festival program immediately after entering the event, on your left, for $3. You can also stop along one of the many Clan tents and look up your last name- join a clan/society/association, find out your kilt colors, and your family coat of arms, all within a few feet of entering the event. What a great start! Since we arrived so early, there were still a lot of booths polishing up their setups and the musicians were still setting up. We opted to hop over to the swapmeet- they are connected from within the Scottish Fest section and they didn't charge us to enter. We were sure to get stamped so we could hop back over into the Scottish Fest. By the time we came back (about an hour later) the Fest was well under way! Bagpipes playing at various locations, Scottish heritage dancers on stage and the competitions were starting. There were soooooo many people dressed in kilts and tartans, including the wee little ones which was absolutely adorable. The shopping was an experience within itself! There were countless friendly vendors selling Scottish, Irish and Welsh items, with a little British mixed in. If you don't yet own a kilt, now is your chance! You could buy every single Scottish costume item you could imagine- authentic kilts, corsets, stockings, hats, wallets, and every accessory you could want to complete your outfit. You could have your hair professionally braided in lovely Scottish style. You could complete your outfit with a sword or bow. Other items you can buy; plenty of Scottish antiques, beautiful jewelry (incredible jewelry selections) and everything from Irish kitchenware, to Baltic Amber. There was also a great kiddie play area with a ball pit and blow up slide. Our 18 month old was a bit small for these but the older kids looked like they were having a blast. A lot of the kids seemed well entertained with the sword fighting lessons and the bagpipe demonstrations as well. There were no bored children at this event- that's for sure! Food- we tried our first Scottish Bangers (fancy Scottish sausages/hot dogs- not bad at all! They also had haggis (we weren't feeling that brave this time around), fish and chips, and meat pies. Welsh cakes and Irish soda bread was being sold in the indoor vendor area. For those not feeling the Scottish food flare... you can opt for pizza, crepes, lemonade and fancy coffee stands. Of course there were plenty of beer and ale options and lots of friends to be made in these lines! :) The athletics- wow! We were amazed at the excitement these competitions stirred in us and the crowd in general. The caber toss was a blast to watch- "the traditional Scottish athletic event in which competitors toss a large tapered pole called a "caber"." This was ongoing, with a spokesman that would frequently inform the crowd of interesting facts about the sport. I am not sure I can do this Fest justice- it was one of the cooler events I've been to this year and to be honest, I was expecting it to be a little lax. Next year, I will be ready! read more

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Incredibly amazing... but one has to feel from the heart, as I did. I have never been to the Scottish Fest until this year. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. I love Europe and its historical and beautiful culture so this was a good chance for me to experience the sense of being there. It was absolutely beautiful in every way - from the harp music to the upbeat Scottish bands, to the food, the attire and the products from Europe that were sold. I loved the pipe drumming as well - if I could meditate on these beautiful sounds every day, I think some of life's stresses would go away! I simply cannot wait to return next year and experience more of the wonder and amazement that Scotland and its culture has to offer. read more

We are not Scottish--at all. Had so much fun enjoying the cultural, wonderful events that happened there. Kids participated in a Caber Toss, and learned how to do the traditional Scottish dancing. The pipes are my favorite and there were many, many pipers and drummers there. I would recommend watching the competition or perhaps getting there by noon on opening day to see the opening ceremony. We enjoyed all the Highland competitions---though I think there should be a bit more seating. People brought their own chairs: so take warning. $8 to park $3 for kids under 12 $18 for adults, but you can find a $2-off coupon on the website. We enjoyed our first Scotch Egg and some Welsh Cakes. Bring a hat & sunscreen! read more

I had a great time my first time coming to the Scottish Fest. The parking was easy with a large lot, there was lots of entertainment (marching bands, bands highland dancing, highland game events), some good traditional food on offer (fish & chips, meat pies, bangers & mash, Haggis), shops and stalls to wonder about and buy clothing, engraved glasses with your clan coat of arms, swords, jewelry and it was nicely and easily laid out. A really fun day out and I'll be heading back next year! read more