Little impact from strained Canada-USA economic relations for strong Chicago and Maxville entries
The Chicago Highland Games and the Glengarry Highland Games in Maxville, Ontario, are the two largest piping, drumming and pipe band events in North America, and each is seeing strong entries from competitors.
Thirty-nine bands are entered for the June 14th Chicago Highland Games, only one less than in 2024. Entries are still open for the August 1-2 Glengarry Highland Games. So far, 33 bands have entered, five of which are from the United States.
Chicago has St. Thomas Alumni from Houston as the only Grade 1 band entered, and, similarly, Grade 1 at Maxville will likely feature only the Ontario-based 78th Fraser Highlanders, making Grade 2 the top competition at both events.
Five Grade 2 bands are entered for Chicago: Great Lakes (Cleveland), Greater Midwest (Michigan), MacMillan (Maryland), Midlothian Scottish (Chicago), and Ulster Scottish (Philadelphia).
The Glengarry Highland Games will feature at least eight Grade 2 bands, including three from the United States: City of Dunedin (Florida), Ulster Scottish, and Wasatch & District (Utah).
So far, US-based entries have been received in every grade apart from Grade 1 and Juvenile. This year will mark the first time a Juvenile grade pipe band competition will be held, spurred by the Pipers & Pipe Band Society of Ontario’s youth development push.
The local Glengarry Pipe Band Association has Maxville-based instructors Rita DeNobriga (drumming), Jacob Dicker (piping), Scott Currie (drumming), and Bruce McQuaig (piping). They teach more than 100 pipers and drummers in bands competing in Grade 3, 4, 5 and, added this year, Juvenile, which they expect will compete in the Glengarry Highland Games inaugural Juvenile contest.
While US-based bands appear to have few qualms about travelling to Canada to compete, the same might not be said about Canadian pipe bands competing in the US. Several bands from Canada that had planned to compete in the US reportedly changed their minds after the economic and political relationship between the countries became strained.
Last year, Chicago attracted two Canadian bands; this year’s event has no entries from north of the border.
Next to pipe band competitions in the UK, the New Zealand Championships are the world’s next-biggest pipe band competition, with 57 contestants in 2025. Thirty-five bands competed at the biannual Australian Pipe Band Championships in 2024.
It is completely understandable, but unfortunate that our Canadian friends are reluctant to compete in the US given the present political situation. I get it. I really do. Forget tariffs. I wouldn’t come here if for no reason other than I wouldn’t want to spend my time and money in a country whose leadership has actually voiced the idea of taking over my homeland. However, in my opinion and my opinion only such thinking is largely confined to people who have spent way too much time in the DC Beltway. Out here amongst We The People I have yet to hear the topic come up. We don’t even joke about it, which tells you how far off the radar this is. We’ve got way too many other things to be concerned about that are actually worth discussing. Like how does the band sound and are we ready to compete?