Highland games "Cowal Games", held in Dunoon, Scotland, every August, is the largest Highland games in the world, attracting around 3,500 competitors and somewhere in the region of 23,000 spectators from around the globe. Worldwide, however, it is exceeded in terms of spectators by two gatherings in the United States: the estimated 30,000 that attend Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina and the even larger gathering—the largest in the Northern Hemisphere—that has taken place every year since 1866. This event is currently held on Labor Day weekend in Pleasanton, California, and their Sesquicentennial Games held on September 5–6, 2015, attracted record crowds close
Scottish Games in North Carolina Amateur I-IV. There are also specific divisions for Tenor Drum. The Grandfather Mountain Highland Games has been designated by the Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing as the official site of the Atlantic International championship. Each dancer must dance four separate dances laid down by the board of Highland Dancing and each is judged accordingly. People come from all over the world to compete and also to watch the best dancers in the nation compete. The United States Inter-Regional Championship has been held at the games twice in the past, thanks to retired dance director Anne Andrews. Pat Johnston is