Kilts and haggis on the programme for 159th Turakina Highland Games near Whanganui

The 159th Turakina Highland Games are taking place this weekend, with plans for it to be a huge "family day out".

A packed schedule of festivities awaits at this year’s Turakina Highland Games on Saturday.

The games are held at the Turakina Domain on Cameron Rd, Turakina, south of Whanganui.

Katarina Begg is the Turakina Caledonian Society secretary and has been going to the games since she was just 2 months old.

The Turakina Highland Games are the oldest highland games in New Zealand. Every year there is a mixture of traditional sports, highland dancing and lots of bagpipes.

Begg said 15 clans would be represented at the games and, for many, this would be a chance to reconnect with relatives.

“It’s a family day out. There’s something for everybody.

“There’s a lot of people who come every year, and it’s the only time they see each other, so people like to sit in their clan tents to catch up and talk through the year.”

A musical collaboration called Plaidsong, a duo of Scottish historians, will perform at the games.

There are 13 bands enrolled in the band competition and 61 solo piping competitors. The pipe band competition will feature a grade-one Manawatū Scottish pipe band that recently placed ninth in the world.

There will also be chances for children to try on kilts or play the drums and learn the chanter - bagpipes for beginners.

There will be five-a-side tug-of-war competitions for children and adults, with prize payouts of $50 and $100 for the winning teams.

There is a $100 prize for anyone who can throw the giant Edenmore caber the furthest.

A mass band at the end of the day will bring on the much-anticipated haggis ceremony.

“Everybody can have as much haggis as they like,” Begg said.

“A lot of people like it, but for those who come, it’s not unusual to them, and a lot of kids screw their noses up at it if they know what’s in it.”

Begg said 159 years of the games reflected a huge effort, but there was a lot of excitement about next year’s celebration of 160 years.

Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.