The Scotland County Highland Games are the only Scottish Games and Gathering located within the old Highland Scottish settlement of the Upper Cape Fear and Pee Dee regions of the Carolinas. This region was home to the largest settlement of Highland Scots in all of North America until well into the 19th century. The surnames and some placenames found within the surrounding 10 counties of North Carolina and the neighboring counties of South Carolina bear testimony to the size and scope of this significant historic settlement and its legacy.

The Scotland County Highland Games were founded in 2008 to fill the void created by the discontinuation of the Flora Macdonald Highland Games held in nearby Red Springs since 1978. Since organizing our efforts, our committee of volunteers from the Laurinburg/Scotland County area as well as the greater region has staged an event which has surpassed any previous offerings and is now one of the most highly anticipated events on the Scottish-American calendar. It is the area’s largest tourism attraction annually and has grown each year since its inception to become one of the larger and more popular Highland Games in the Southeast circuit.