Mey Games unveils official 50th anniversary tartan
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ORGANISERS of the Mey Highland Games have commissioned a special signature tartan to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
The games scheduled for August 1 this year have been cancelled due to Covid-19 but a special 50th anniversary event will now take place in August 2021.
Created by Brian Wilton MBE, the Mey Highland Games tartan captures the spirit of the popular gathering and will add a special touch to next year's event.
The design is based on the Rothesay Hunting tartan worn by games chieftain Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, when visiting Scotland.
The light blue blocks comprise 50 threads to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the games – founded in 1970 at the suggestion of the late Queen Mother, whose much-loved Scottish home was the nearby Castle of Mey.
In her memory, the castle stonework is represented in the rust-coloured marl.
The games were the first to inaugurate traditional heavy events for para-athletes and wounded ex-servicemen and women from around the world – here represented on behalf of all those organisations with the navy blue, air force blue and red of the Help for Heroes charity.
Brian Wilton, whose small design studio is in Crieff, has produced tartans for more than 200 clients in almost 30 countries.
Tanya Fryer, Mey Highland Games director and dancing convener, led on the tartan commission project on behalf of the games committee, and will now oversee the production and sale of the tartan.
She said: "The opportunity of commissioning Brian Wilton MBE to design our Mey Highland Games official 50th anniversary tartan was too good to miss and, despite the event being put on hold for a year, we think the wait will be well worth it."
The games secretary, Councillor Nicola Sinclair, said: "We were all gutted to have to cancel the 2020 games due to Covid-19, especially as we had some exciting new additions to reveal.
"However, we will simply move the anniversary to 2021 and come back bigger and better than ever.
"We are really looking forward to welcoming people from all over the world to this very special event."
The Mey Highland Games is investigating options to make its commemorative tartan available to order as kilts and accessories. Further details will be announced in the coming months.
