Scottish flags with lions flapped in the breeze as dancers jumped and leapt to the croon of bagpipes at the 14th Annual High Desert Celtic Festival and Highland Games on Saturday.

Waiting for a traditional Celtic lunch of beef tips, Phil Hoffmann and his wife, Kris, of Bend, who are of Scottish descent, marveled at the numerous forms of entertainment for all ages.

”We’ve just had a great time all day,” said Kris. ”We didn’t expect it to be so big and so fun.”

As the Southern Oregon Pipe Band marched across the lawn at the Stevenson Ranch, spectators lounged on the grass watching their children dance and spin to the music.

Throughout the festival, clan representatives had set up tents with tables of history books, tartans and flags of their clans.

At the Clan Bailey tent, Chris Bonjorni, 18, lifted a chain-mail coif and mantle, trying to guess how much it weighed. About 12 pounds was his final answer.

The armor, swords and daggers were a big hit with the teen boys who entered into mock duels with blunted blades.

Men and women sported kilts made from the tartan of their clan and sporrans, pouches that hang in front attached to a belt.

”It’s like a medieval fanny pack,” said Douglas Bailey, 39, of Portland. ”Kilts don’t have pockets.”

Douglas said he travels around to Celtic festivals all summer teaching people about the clan.

During the ”cutest knees” contest, men lined up on stage, lifting their kilts to mid-thigh above their wool socks as the audience laughed and cheered.

A young boy was declared the winner.

Taking a break during sets, Janny Tatro, 13, of Bend said she’s been studying Irish step dancing for a few years. Earlier in the day she spun and jumped across the stage with Samantha Fettig, 12, and Natalie Gregory, 14. All three compete in and came home from a competition last week loaded with medals.

”Actually, it’s really simple to learn,” Jenny said. ”Mostly we just do it for fun. We get together, have a good time, and learn the dances at the same time.”

Nearby, Aaron McKinney was getting mentally prepared to heft a 15-foot log in the air as part of the Highland Games.

”This is the first time I’ve done this,” he said. ”It sounded like a lot of fun, but it’s a lot harder than I expected.”

The log throw, in which participants try to throw the log so that it flips end-over-end, originated from the wars when soldiers would heft a tree across a river or up the wall of a castle.

”Now it’s a sport,” said 31-year-old Mark Wechter of Lake Oswego. He’s been competing in the traditional games for six years. ”The goal is to get it to land in a straight line away from you. At 12′ if it were a clock.”

Standing on the sidelines of the games, Lori Clark was one of the many people at the festival exploring her history. She had just bought a tie made from the Clark family tartan and learned that she could choose from five clans.

”Of course I came out today,” she said. ”I’m Scottish.”