Ontario’s Cambridge Games abruptly cancelled

With just more than a week’s notice, the organizers of the Cambridge Scottish Festival in Cambridge, Ontario, abruptly cancelled the event, leaving more than one hundred solo and band competitors without one of the larger contests in the Pipers & Pipe Band Society of Ontario’s competition season.

A source said that one of the games’ directors notified the PPBSO “a short time ago,” but provided no reason for the sudden cancellation of the July 18th contest.

Bow added that all entry fees will be refunded to competitors, and that the PPBSO receives payment for organizing and administering the piping, drumming and band competitions only after events are complete.

Cambridge Games have been a staple of the Ontario season for pipers and drummers and, for many years, held the title of “Canadian Pipe Band Championships.” While the games have carried on, rumours swirled almost every year that the event was in doubt, often beset with record-setting heat or monsoon-like rains. The once-strong crowds had noticeably declined.

Nonetheless, the piping, drumming and pipe band competitions have remained strong, contestants, judges and administrators willing to subject themselves to extremely challenging conditions in the name of their hobby.

In the late 1990s, the Cambridge Highland Games endured negative publicity when an unfortunate spectator was hit in the head with an errant caber from the heavy athletic events.

The 2026 Embro Highland Games on July 1st in Embro, Ontario, were hit by severe weather, including a sudden windstorm that reportedly blew down a tent and allegedly injured at least one PPBSO member.

The organization has said that it is reviewing its inclement weather policies.