Scottish, Irish and Welsh heritage will be celebrated this weekend at the 31st annual Glasgow Highland Games.

The games kick off at noon Friday with the Chief’s Luncheon at Barren River Lake State Resort Park Lodge. There will be a ceilidh Scottish folk concert at 7 p.m. at the park concerts pavilion.

Games will be Saturday and Sunday at St. Andrew’s and Strathbarren Fields. Gates open at 7:30 a.m. Saturday and at 8:30 a.m. Sunday.

Hugh Montgomery, who is from one of the oldest and best-known families in Scotland, the Montgomery clan, will be the chief. Clan Irwin, one of the oldest of the Scottish clans, will be the honored clan.

“There are a number of names we don’t take for granted they are Scottish,” Glasgow Highland Games President Robert Harrison said. “There are a lot of clans that don’t have ‘Mc’ in front of them.”

Several well-known bands will be playing throughout the weekend, including Clan Na Gael, which opened the Winter Olympics in Utah; Scottish balladeer Colin Grant Adams; and Father, Son and Friends. Pipe and drum major Gregg Cutcliff will lead the massed bands at noon Saturday at St. Andrew’s field.

“He is probably the best pipe and drum major in the United States,” Harrison said.

Beth Gay, a renowned genealogist pertaining to Irish and Celtic people in the United States, will lecture at 2 p.m. Friday and at various times Saturday and Sunday at the lodge.

Omega Strength Force will perform at 2 p.m. Saturday on St. Andrews Field.

“They just set a world record in weight lifting a month ago,” Harrison said.

There will also be more than 30 vendors with all types of items from jewelry to clothing, sheep dog demonstrations and children’s activities for children 12 and under Saturday and Sunday.

Harrison believes the games portion will be great this year.

“We have Danielle Curry, who is the world champion female Scottish athlete. We have Adriane Wilson, who is the No. 1-ranked female athlete in the United States. We also have Stephanie Robbins, who is ranked No. 4 in the world,” he said. “We have probably the strongest female athletes anybody has ever put together in the nation. It will be a fierce competition.”

There is also a great group of men, Harrison said.

“We don’t have a world champion. The last three years we were the only games in the world to have a world record set,” he said. “We have a group of gentlemen coming in who are capable of setting a world record.”

Ernie Myers, executive vice president of the Glasgow-Barren County Chamber of Commerce and a board member of the Glasgow Highland Games Corp., said the games began after a visit to Grandfather Mountain in western North Carolina, where there is a world renowned Highland Games event.

“They visited there to check on how the Highland Games worked,” he said. “Ralph Payne was excited about getting the Highland Games started here, and it has been successful. In my opinion, he was the one who started it.”

The Glasgow Highland Games is ranked among the top four in the United States, Myers said.

“In the last two years there have been four world records in different disciplines,” he said. “They’re strong enough to set those types of records.”

The games have a major economic impact, Myers said.

“We have in excess of 4,000 people. The chamber keeps the gate every year. There are an enormous amount of people who attend these games,” he said. “The tourist dollars generated by these games is enormous. The greater preponderance of people are from outside the area. Most of the hotels … are filled. The lodge is the first to fill. It fills up quickly.”

While the games generate a lot of tourist dollars, support in putting them together over the years has been dwindling, Myers said. This year, the Tartan Ball had to be eliminated.

“We’re having an expanded sponsor’s reception. Just like many festivals, the Highland Games is needing some dollars to be honest. We’re trying to be frugal and save as much money as we can,” he said. “Every institution in our area gave generously. We’re having to see more people. That’s understandable for these times. We’re determined that the Highland Games will continue year after year.”

The Glasgow Highland Games is “really a great family event,” Harrison said.

“There’s something there everybody will enjoy be it dancing, athletics, genealogy or shopping. Some people will travel 300 or 400 miles just to see the massed bands, which is spectacular,” he said. “It’s a total weekend of the Celtic culture, which is basically Scottish, Irish and Welsh.”

— For a complete schedule, visit glasgowhighlandgames.com.

— Follow features reporter Alyssa Harvey on Twitter @bgdnfeatures or visit bgdailynews.com.