California Maxwells continue their high profile at Scottish events, as evidenced by the Clan Maxwell tent at the recent Woodland (Sacramento Valley) Scottish Games.

In the picture below, the Maxwell tent stands stark and alone on a cold, windy Saturday morning, but it provided a warm welcome to Maxwells and allied family members who braved the elements. Fortunately, the weather warmed up on Sunday, drawing more people to the annual event which is California’s second largest Scottish festival.

The picture below, taken from inside the Maxwell tent, shows the proximity to the outdoor band stage. It made for a great view; however, the sound engineer kept the amplifiers so high that usually-pleasant Scottish melodies bordered on noise pollution.

There were a couple additions to the Maxwell tent this year. First was the tent itself — a new EZ-up tent which is a bit larger than the old one but with a significantly heavier steel frame. The new tent is much easier for one person to set up, and it sports a green canopy. A TV/VCR was on hand to let visitors watch a video of last year’s Siege of Caerlaverock reenactment.

To boost participation in the event, Al Reeder, our California Commissioner, took an imaginative approach. He had postcards printed with event information and clan contact information and sent them to Maxwells and allied family surnames taken from the local phone book and online white pages. And he had extra postcards printed to hand out to visitors who requested contact information.

The Woodland (Sacramento Valley) Scottish Games are second in size in California only to the Pleasanton (San Francisco) games which are held each Labor Day weekend. The sponsors of the Pleasanton games clam their event is the largest in the U.S., but officials of this year’s Woodland games were planning to research the record books as they believe they may have the largest number of athletes competing.