30th anniversary Skagit Valley Games increases prize pool to US$34,000, plans big music shows

The Skagit Valley Highland Games & Celtic Festival in Mount Vernon, Washington, with the help of the late Celtic music mover-and-shaker Skye Richendrfer, and to celebrate its thirtieth anniversary this year, the total prize pool for pipe bands, solo pipers and drummers will be close to US$35,000.

Not only that, but the games will kick off the weekend event on Friday, July 10th, with a free concert featuring piping legends Willie McCallum and Stuart Liddell, along with the acclaimed Finlay MacDonald Band.

But wait, there’s even more! Earlier on July 10th, the Celtic Arts Foundation (also founded by Richendrfr) will hold a Highland Pipes Masterclass with McCallum and a mixed instrument workshop with fiddle player Ewen Henderson of the Celtic music group Manran, and guitarist Ross Martin from Daimh

The games have added $4,000 in prize money, including for the third annual Gordon Duncan Memorial Kitchen Piping Competition for accredited Open/Professional, Grade 1 and Grade 2 pipers, which is on Saturday, July 11th.

Each piper must perform a selection no more than five minutes long, with at least one composition by Duncan. Sponsored and endorsed by the Gordon Duncan Memorial Trust, first-through-sixth prizes are $500, $350, $250, $200, $150 and $100.

To honour Richendrfer’s legacy, the third annual Skye Memorial Jig Competition for Open/Professional pipers is on July 12th and offers the same prize money.

It’s the second straight year that the games have increased prize money, after adding $5,000 in 2025.

The Skagit Games have emphasized creativity, performance, and entertainment. The “The Bothy” stage has been added, featuring performers such as Ailis Sutherland, Ali Hutton, MacDonald, Martin, and Henderson, as well as other traditional singing and ceilidh dancing sessions.

An intriguing Bothy contest that could appeal to all musicians is a new Lilting Competition, the ancient Celtic art of using nonsense syllables such as “dum,” “diddle,” and “dee” to vocalize a wordless melody in quasi-canntaireachd fashion. Pipers and drummers worldwide use their own lilting vocables to communicate melodies, or how they want a tune played. Points are awarded for style and recognizability. Just don’t whistle.

The pipe band and solo piping and drumming competitions at the Skagit Valley Highland Games & Celtic Festival are sanctioned by the British Columbia Pipers’ Association, which has quickly emerged as one of the world’s most progressive, open-minded and communicative piping and drumming organizations.