Utah family celebrates its Scottish Heritage

The Barney family was coming home from vacation, driving up I-15 just outside of Payson, when they saw a sign advertising the Payson Scottish Festival going on that very day. Since both Trenda and Peter Barney have Scottish heritage, they decided to stop and take a look.

Little did they know how much it would change their lives.

As they walked around the festival, Trenda met a woman and got to talking about Scottish family connections.

"She asked me if I'd like to get involved with the Utah Scottish Association," Trenda said. "I was more into genealogy at that point. I was doing research on some of the clans. She convinced me I could do both."

A short time later, the treasurer of the Utah Scottish Association has to resign, and the group called Trenda to see if she could fill in. She got involved and after her term as treasurer stayed on the board to help with events.

"It's been a family affair ever since," she said. "Our kids were young enough that they got involved. My parents hopped on board. Pete learned to play the bagpipes and now plays with the Salt Lake Scots."

They've become so entrenched in all things Scotland "that we can't imagine life without it," she says.

Trenda is most closely connected to the McPherson clan; Pete is connected to the Kerrs. "But we have Campbell, Steel, Douglas, Ramsay and a whole bunch of other clan connections," she said. "We just think of ourselves as Scots. I have German heritage that I'm proud of, too. But there's just something about Scotland that grabs us."

Throughout the year, the association sponsors several events, the biggest of which is the Utah Scottish Festival & Highland Games, now in its 37th year. The festival will take place this weekend at Thanksgiving Point.

The festival offers a full array of Scottish culture, traditions and demonstrations, including bagpipe bands, Highland dance, gathering of the clans, Highland athletics, traditional music and food.

You don't have to be Scottish to enjoy the festival. "The Festival & Games are a great family event," says current association president Brooke Montgomery. "All who come are embraced by the richness and warmth of Scottish culture."

For a complete schedule of events and more information, visit www.Utahscots.org.

The festival is always a lot of fun — and a lot of work, says Trenda, who served as president of the association in 2008-09. Over the years, it has provided a lot of involvement for the Barney family.