Roanoke County, Virginia (August 17, 2016) - Where can you find a ton of tartan, bold bag pipes and feats of super human strength in Roanoke County, Virginia? Only at the 2016 Green Hill Highland Games where you'll see some of the most outstanding kilt-donning athletes around! On Saturday, August 27 from 9am-6pm, Roanoke County’s Green Hill Park will host the Green Hill Highland Games. Both male and female athletes will challenge one another in traditional Scottish heavy athletics and strength competitions, including the Weight Throw, Scottish Hammer Throw, Stone Put and the always entertaining Caber Toss, which involves tossing a long, tapered pine log or pole end-over-end. Come on out and cheer on the athletes. Spectator admission is FREE.

This year’s event will host 7 professional athletes, who have reached the highest level of Scottish Athletics. Returning again this year to the games is the Junior Green Hill Highland Games! Children ages 12 and under can participate in a scaled down version of the strongman games by competing in the Caber Toss, Stone Put and Weight for Height competition. If you have a wee lad or lass, this is the perfect Saturday activity! No registration is necessary, just be prepared to make entertaining memories. The Virginia Highlands Pipes and Drums, the oldest pipes and drums organization in Southwest Virginia, will provide music for the opening ceremonies at 10:00am and will perform occasionally throughout the day. Live music, Scottish dancers, clans, food and beverage vendors will be on site, so bring your chairs and have a picnic while watching this one-of-a-kind competition.

The 2016 Green Hill Highland Games will benefit Warrior 360, an organization that supports the needs and promotes the welfare of military service members, their families and all others whose service to public safety place the welfare of others before their own. Additionally, we are privileged this year to have several of their wounded warriors participating in our games. One of those adaptive athletes is Alexander “The Tank” Armor. Armor is a para-chair adaptive Highland Games competitor and adaptive sports advocate. As a disabled veteran, Armor has a unique viewpoint that allows him to see a way through or around obstacles. This perspective has directly led to his success as an adaptive strongman. After being a piper who opened his local games, he approached the athletic director and proposed an adaptive athletes division. The next year the local games were held, Armor finished as the division champ and a new passion came to fruition in his life. Armor is scheduled to compete once again in games from Michigan to Florida, Idaho to Georgia and from Nevada to Virginia.

The 2016 Green Hill Highland Games are brought to you by Roanoke County Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, Virginia. For more information about the 2016 Green Hill Highland Games or if you have questions about the Junior Green Hill Highland Games visit www.RoanokeCountyParks.com or contact Wendi Schultz at 540.777.6326 or email wschultz@roanokecountyva.gov.