Pipe Band Contest

 Pipe band competition.

 Timetable: http://www.nzpipebands.org.nz/documents/NelsonTimetable_final.pdf

Come and celebrate with us!  15th - 19th July 2015

Held annually since 1958

The Festival of the Tartans is celebrated every year with a five day program that is sure to bring out the Scot in everyone, even those without Scottish roots! The Festival of the Tartans celebrates traditional Scottish culture brought to this area by Scottish immigrants more than 2 centuries ago.  There are events for all ages including a Kilted Golf Tournament, Massed Pipe Bands, Piping & Drumming Competition, Highland Dancing Competitions, Scottish Heavy Weight Events, Clan Tents & Genealogy, Pipe Band performances and other outdoor entertainment. Also plan to attend the Tartan Tea at the Opening, a Gaelic Language talk/workshop, and the popular "Kitchen Party" Variety Concert.  Tap your toes and clap your hands to the live Celtic music and experience the historic Kirkin’ o’ the Tartan Ceremony at the closing.

The 2015 Antigonish Highland Games to take place the week of July 5 to July 12, 2015.

Please Note: The main weekend for the Highland Games will be July 10, 11 & 12, 2015 (Friday, Saturday & Sunday) featuring competitions in Piping, Drumming, Pipe Bands, Highland Dancing, Ancient Scottish Heavy Events and Track and Field along with Concerts, Ceilidhs, Clan Gatherings and much more.

The Antigonish Highland Games has built a worldwide reputation based on authenticity, attention to detail, and hospitality. The 152nd Games will be no exception. The week long schedule will be jam packed with new and enhanced competitions featuring athletes, pipers, drummers, and highland dancers from across the country and around the world. There will also be the blend of Scottish flavoured ceilidhs, clan activities, and concerts.

 The College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts of Canada presents the 2015 Atlantic Canada Piobaireachd Challenge in partnership with the Atlantic Canada Pipe Band Association. The event will take place at The College on Saturday, April 25, 2015.

We are pleased to introduce Roddy MacLeod MBE, Principal of the National Piping Centre in Scotland, as our judge. Roddy will also be running piobaireachd and light music workshops at The College on Sunday, April 26. Please click here to download the competition and workshop entry form. Entries close April 17.

This event is run by the Lower Clarence Scottish Association. The pipe band competition is overseen by Pipe Bands NSW.

 Along with the solo & band competitions, we have a great lineup of entertainment to choose from. Make sure you check out Drunk & Sailor, Liam's Fancy, McClannahan's Irish Dancers, Roger Drawdry & the Firestarters, and Tuatha Dea.

 First annual solo piping contest held on beautiful Presque Isle State Park in Erie, PA. Sanctioned piping offered for all amateur grades (5 events offered per grade). Bring the family and enjoy a weekend at the beach. We’ll have the BBQ going, cornhole game, and I guess some bagpipes...if we have to. The competition will be held on the bay side of the peninsula at the East Pier Pavilion. The bay side is shady and on the water, making the temperature significantly cooler than the hot inland temps of July. Public beaches span the length of the other side of the peninsula. 

 Professional Piobaireachd and MSR---5/15/15. All other solo and band events 

Grade 3, 4, and 5 band competition, solo piping and drumming all grades, including professional

 Grade 5 through 1 piping competition 

 Solo piping contest for all amateur grades. Professional contest as featured event that evening in local concert venue. Come make a weekend with this event up in Portland! 

 Pipers and drummers of all levels are accepted and encouraged to attend!

Come to the Northern Arizona and study with some of the world’s foremost pipers and drummers. The piping and drumming school is held on the beautiful campus of Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona, and allows you to completely immerse yourself in the study of bagpipe music and drumming.

The United States School of Piping is dedicated to the memory of the school's founder, Jim "Seamus" Thomson. Jim organized and steered the school from its inception until he died in November, 2009. Without question, there would be no school without Jim's hard work. He ran the school for the students and to promote the music and traditions of the Great Highland Bagpipe and drumming. While Jim is gone, his memory will always be with this school and its students. Jim Thomson is greatly missed.

 When celebrating in times of peace one of the Highlanders' favorite pastimes was the tainchel. For these "great hunts" very often several clans would combine. Chieftains would send word to the clansmen that such an event was planned and when and where they should assemble.

After a successful hunt a great feast and celebration would be held. Then the rival clansmen would test each other's prowess at various sports -running, jumping, wrestling, or primitive forms of weight putting with stones, or divided into roughly equal sides vying against each other in a very early form of camanachd or shinty. Lastly the clansmen would vie with each other in piping and in dancing, the pipers taking it in turns to demonstrate their skills and the clansmen to demonstrate their agility and neatness of movement by dancing complicated steps to the pipe music. These relaxations were in effect the forerunners of the modern Highland games.

 The Pikes Peak Celtic Festival blossomed from an old tradition in Colorado Springs. 1999 marked the last year of the Pikes Peak Highland Games. In 2013, we brought this festival back under the new name-Pikes Peak Celtic Festival.

The Festival field will be filled with the sound of Bagpipes, the smell of fish & chips, the sight of world champion Irish dancers, and events/activities for every age. Come out to see the massed bagpipe bands of the Western United States Pipe Band Association. Come see world renowned Celtic Rock groups. See and learn tradition Irish and Highland dancing.  Taste the best in Irish and Scottish cuisine. The Pikes Peak Celtic Festival will be the main attraction of the year.

 Dates and Times

The Festival will be held on May 24 and 25, 2014 from 9:00am until 6:00pm at the Orange County Fair & Event Center
(Orange County Fairgrounds), located at 88 Fair Drive in Costa Mesa, California.

Ticket Sales

All ticket sales are final, no refunds for any reason will be given.
The games go on rain or shine.

Massed Bands

The Massed Bands will perform at the opening ceremony on Saturday starting at 12:00 Noon, and at Closing Ceremonies, 
held on Sunday starting at 5:00pm

Memorial Service

A Memorial Service honoring our veterans will be held at 10:00am on Sunday.

Wheel Chairs/Scooters/Kids Wagons

Wheel Chair, motorized scooter and kids wagon rentals are available at the front gate for a nominal fee.

Animals

Absolutely no animals, including dogs, are allowed on the fairgrounds except in the case of Handicap Service Animals or performance dogs. This is a OCFEC rule, not a Festival Rule. If you bring an animal on the grounds, you may be asked to leave by Orange County Fair and Event Center staff.