LAURINBURG — Hurricane Ian has forced the cancelation of the 2022 Highland Games this weekend.

Bill Caudill, chairman of the Highland Games, said the board of directors had an emergency meeting to look at the path of the storm and things didn’t change enough to hold the event.

Before the cancelation of the games was announced, the inaugural Highland Fling, which was scheduled for Friday night in downtown had been canceled already.

The Highland Fling was meant to bring more local interest in the games and collaborate with downtown to show visitors who were coming into the county what downtown Laurinburg had to offer. The event was set to begin after the Whisky Tasting and be packed full of events with children’s games, a Sip n’ Shop with the downtown merchants as well as performances by Colin Grant-Adams, Jamie Laval, North of Argyll and Seven Nations.

“There was a lot of excitement about the Highland Fling so it is a big letdown that it had to be canceled,” said Downtown Development Coordinator Mary Allison Yancey. “But we’ll be just as excited when we’re able to safely celebrate next time without hurricane weather. With Laurinburg After 5, Fall Fest, Sip n’ Shops and so many more events coming up we still have a lot to look forward to downtown.”

With the cancelation of the event, there is no rescheduling for better weather but organizers hope to reconvene and bring the Highland Fling to the community in 2023.

Caudill said many of the performers and participants in the Highland Games were traveling to Laurinburg from Florida. “We didn’t want people traveling through inclement weather,” he said.

He added that many of the athletes who work for emergency services had canceled their trip to the games because of the storm.

This year looked as if it was going to be one of the bigger Highland Games as pre-sale tickets had surpassed the attendance of last year’s games. But with heavy rains and high winds forecast for the area because of Hurricane Ian, the celebration is on hold until 2023.

“We’re far along in our planning for 2023,” Caudill said with a laugh. “Nobody wants to be out in four to eight inches of rain.”

The one event that is still scheduled to go on this weekend is the annual Kirkin’ of the Tartans Worship Service, which will be held at the historic Old Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church.

“It’s an 11 a.m. service and will feature a lot of Scottish themes,” Caudill said. “After the service, there will also be some light refreshments.

Old Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church is located at 15301 McFarland Road in Laurinburg.

Cheris Hodges can be reached at (910) 506-3169 or [email protected].

Katelin Gandee is the former senior writer for The Laurinburg Exchange.