The Festival of Cultures is McPherson's signature annual event, held the fourth weekend of September at Lakeside Park. It grew out of the McPherson Scottish Festival & Highland Games, which ran for over twenty years as one of the larger Celtic events on the Great Plains. In 2016 the name changed and the scope expanded to include cultural traditions from across the county, but the Highland competitions remain the heart of it.
Expect caber toss, hammer throw, sheaf throw, and stone put competitions; Highland dance competitions for all ages; massed pipe band performances; Celtic and international folk music on multiple stages; and a gathering of clan societies and international cultural associations. Food vendors cover a good range, and the event has a genuine community feel rather than a polished tourist-festival atmosphere. If you are driving through central Kansas in late September, it is worth timing a stop here.