Piping, drumming and highland dancing competitions were all part of the entertainment but the 2023 line-up included for the first time an invitational elite heavyweight competition.
Heavyweight events included the caber toss, stone put, log running, rock carry and sheaf tossing.
The farmers walk involved carrying up to 65kg in each hand.
Festival convener Kirsty Pickett said she initially only planned to host one of the heavyweight competitors for a demonstration.
"We invited Craig to do a demonstration, then thought ‘I wonder if we could get a person to do a head to head’ and before we knew it we had a full-on competition on our hands."
The brave among the spectators were able to test their mettle along with the country’s best in the "have-a-go" section.
Young, old, men and women all lined up only to discover how difficult a caber toss really was.
Another coup for the weekend was being able to secure performances by The Highland Dance company of New Zealand.
Many members of the troupe were past and present dance champions.
The dance company’s presence had encouraged 75 young dancers to compete this year.
"The reason we had such big numbers this time is because the dance company opened up applications for people to dance with them in their Heart of the Highlands show.
"We also had 57 regional dancers dancing alongside the company, so it was a pretty full-on performance
"There was an incredible reaction from the crowd last night [Friday]."
After the pandemic saw the 2022 event cancelled, wet weather earlier in the week had caused concern but families sat around watching the highland games and eating lunch under brilliant sunshine.
She was very pleased with the larger than expected swell of public support for the festival.
By Toni McDonald
