Clan Gatherings, Haggis Toss, Men of Thunder and the Bonniest Knees

Heaven Hill Distilleries hosts family-fun Highland Games in August in Bardstown, Ky.

BARDSTOWN, KY – JULY, 2012 – For the third year, hometown hero Kerry (“KO”) Overfelt, the 2009 National Champion and 3x North American Champion, will toss the sheaf in the Bardstown Highland Games. Now sponsored by Heaven Hill Distilleries, the games will take place on the grounds of the distillery on Saturday, August 18. The Games will also include performances by the Men of Thunda, lots of Scottish clans and their colors, pipers, children’s games, live music and food vendors. Visit www.SampleOurSpirit.com to see all the activities.

Free admission family fun

The free admission event hosts Overfelt – a.k.a. the “Kentucky Cannonball” – among several pros, including Craig Smith, Brady Smith and Mark Valenti, as well as 10 amateurs from around the country, including Chuck Clements,.

Craig Smith has been ranked in the top five Highland Games athletes for the past few years. Brady Smith is a Masters World Champion and world record holder and Mark Valenti is a former world record holder who is also ranked in the top 10. Chuck Clements has been an amateur thrower for about 10 years and helps organize the Games.

Opening Ceremonies for the Highland Games begin at 12 p.m. Gates open at 9 a.m. and the games begin at 10 a.m. Celtic festival fun includes the “savage” Men of Thunda performing bagpipe melodies accompanied by the sound of tribal drumbeats in the tradition of the ancient Celtics. Pipers from Louisville Pipe Band, Kentucky clan gatherings, a ladies’ Haggis Toss, men’s Bonniest Knees Contest, kids’ inflatables, arts and crafts and lots of food, including traditional Scottish fish and chips, round out the day.

Lawn chair entertainment

Bring a lawn chair or blanket and relax on the grounds of America’s largest independent family-owned distillery, whose brands include Evan Williams, Elijah Craig and Parker’s Heritage Collection. Founded in 1934 and home of the Bourbon Heritage Center, Heaven Hill makes a unique backdrop for the Bardstown Highland Games with its many rickhouses towering over the grounds as the athletes compete in such heavy events as the caber toss, the stone put and the Scottish hammer throw.

The Bardstown Highland Games sponsored by Heaven Hill Distilleries

Festival website: www.SampleOurSpirit.com

Date Saturday, August 18: Opening Ceremonies at 12 p.m. Gates open at 9 a.m.

Games begin at 10 a.m.

Place Heaven Hill Distilleries, 1311 Gilkey Run Road, Bardstown, KY 40004

Cost Free (parking at Heaven Hill also free)

PHOTO: Craig Smith, one of the top five Highland Games athletes.

Photo: Heaven Hill Distilleries

ABOUT BARDSTOWN, KY | The “Bourbon Capital of the World,” Bardstown sits in the heart of Kentucky Bourbon Country, home to five distilleries, including the restored and newly re-opened Willett Distillery, known for its unique bourbon and rye whiskeys bottled by hand in very small batches. Three of Bardstown’s distilleries – Heaven Hill, Maker’s Mark and Jim Beam – are on the famed Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Major attractions include the “Stephen Foster Story,” Kentucky’s official outdoor drama that takes place in My Old Kentucky Home State Park; the Civil War Museum of the Western Theatre (one of the four most significant such museums in the country); The Kentucky Railway Museum, where Thomas the Tank Engine is known to put in appearances; and My Old Kentucky Dinner Train. Additionally, Bardstown has four 18-hole golf courses, three self-guided tours (Historic Downtown Walking, Architectural and African-American), two wineries and numerous religious attractions