The Greenville Scottish Games getting its own Grant of Arms

The Right Honorable The Lord Lyon King of Arms is coming to Greenville next month with a special presentation.

The Lord Lyon will be presenting the Letters Patent recording a Grant of Arms awarded to the Greenville Scottish Games under the Scottish Royal Prerogative. This new Grant of Arms features the Lion Rampant holding a Thistle along with the colors of the SC state flag and the Scottish Saltire.

“This is an extremely high honor for us and the Greenville community at large,” said Jay Spivey, spokesman for the games.

The Greenville Scottish Games and the Gallabrae experience will be held in Greenville on Friday, May 27 and Saturday, May 28 with events for the entire family that will draw people from the Upstate of South Carolina, the North Carolina foothills and the North Georgia lakes and mountains. It is the region’s largest Scottish heritage experience.

Since their inception in 2005, the Greenville Scottish Games has consistently taken an innovative, fresh approach to celebrating Scottish heritage. Greenville is nestled in arguably the highest concentration of people Scots-Irish descent in the country.

The Games will kick-off with the Great Scot! Parade on Main Street in downtown Greenville on Friday, May 27th at 6 p.m. The main event will be held on the Furman University campus the following day. The Lord Lyon will present the Letters Patent.

The Lord Lyon is the head of Lyon Court, as well as being the Scottish official with responsible for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grants of arms, and serving as the judge of the Court of the Lord Lyon, the oldest heraldic court in the world that is still in daily operation and dates back to the 1300s.

“The legacy left to us resonates throughout the Upstate in our place names, our attitude toward family, our sense of humor, and our love of country,” Spivey said.

Additional information can be found at www.gallabrae.com.