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.

 We are pleased to announce that we will be hosting some great events for pipers, drummers and bands alike! Please take a look below at the list fun things we will be offering this year!!

Contact: Piping Coordinator, Sue Jacobi at (505) 896-8846 or E-mail: suejacobi@msn.com for any questions and comments. Entry Forms may be sent via email or snail mail. Your name / band name will be sent to Will Call. You can pick up your entry pass at the ticket booth. Please make checks payable to Rio Grande Valley Celtic Festival Association and send to: PO Box 35062, Albuquerque, NM, 87176-5062 Note: Please do not bring any glass, outside alcohol or tents on the field. Tents are being provided by the RGVCFA. Merchandise, tables, chairs and food are OK.

Grab your kilt (or jeans) and head down to the 31st Annual 

Payson Scottish Festival and Highland Games 

    The Prescott Highland Games (The Games) sponsor is The Prescott Area Celtic Society or PACS  a501(c) (3), that exists to promote cultural pride in Celtic heritage through education, special events and the annual Prescott Highland Games. It is a love of all things Celtic which drives our organization.

The Games are made up of different organizations that have a common theme.  Celtic heritage or interests.  They are: Clans, Social Organizations, Vendors, Athletes, Clubs, and for Profit or Non-Profit organizations, and Businesses.

 The Caledonian Club of Sacramento hosts these Games. It was established in 1876 and is a nonprofit organization formed to preserve Scottish heritage, culture and traditions. 

 
Please reserve the weekend of April 25-26, 2015 to join us for one of the oldest (and most fun) festivals in California!

CELEBRATING CELTIC HERITAGE IN SOUTHERN NEVADA FOR OVER 10 YEARS.

The Las Vegas Celtic Society is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to promoting Celtic heritage in Southern Nevada.

We are a diverse group of volunteers who put on the Las Vegas Highland Games each April.

 Come on out and Get Yer Plaid On!  This event gets bigger and better every year! This is a day of great fun, a day of tradition. A day that had something for everyone, Scottish or not. If you've never experienced the Games, come and see what brings people back year after year. It's a fun packed day that is filled with things to do: Scottish heavy athletics, genealogy, clans and family history, live music on multiple stages, sheepdog herding demos, dance shows, a large area just for children, a petting zoo and a multitude of really great food and merchandise vendors.

 The Caledonian Society of Arizona is proud to host the 51st Annual Arizona Scottish Gathering & Highland Games 

You don’t have to be Scottish to attend our Games. We welcome everyone and hope you’ll share with us about your cultural background too! Visit the Genealogy tent and trace your own family roots. There will be so much to see and do!

Artists will entertain throughout the day with their traditional and modern Scottish tunes. The wee lads & lassies area will entertain our younger visitors.

 The Queen Mary is pleased to welcome back the annual ScotsFestival & International Highland Games XXII February 14-15 from 9AM-6PM Experience the rich culture and history of Scotland first hand through an array of authentic activities, athletics, dancing, entertainment and cuisine in ode to the Queen Mary’s Scottish legacy. 

Eighty-four years ago, in the quaint seaside town of Clydebank, Scotland, construction began on the Queen Mary. Exemplifying the finest craftsmanship of the country, the Queen Mary’s legacy is undeniable and today the ship’s heritage is celebrated through the two-day ScotsFestival honoring Scottish culture. 

ScotsFestival weekend kicks off on February 13 with Rock Yer Kilt, highlighting the best Scottish Rock bands this side of the pond. Official ScotsFestival Opening Ceremonies begin on February 14 featuring the traditional Grand Parade of Clans & Bands with an Address to the Haggis. Daily festivities include Border Collie sheep-herding, firing demonstrations, performances by the Scots Greys Calvary, Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, Celtic Harp & Wren Iniquity Ensemble and historic re-enactments. 

ScotsFestival honors nearly fifty Scottish clans & vendors throughout the weekend with professional and amateur competitions in piping, drumming, massed bands, darts, Highland dancing, and Highland athletics. The Scottish Highland Games, a pre-cursor to today’s Olympic Games, were designed to test the strength, skill and technique of ancient warriors by face offs. 

The Queen Mary’s ScotsFestival hosts World Champion Scottish Highland Dancer, Kaylee Finnegan and many internationally acclaimed athletes competing for titles in stones, hammer throw, weights for distance, weight over bar, sheaf and the famed caber toss.

Whisky tasting sessions with aged malt experts and craft beer samplings are available for adult festivalgoers while the wee laddies & lassies can bear witness to Queen Mary’s coronation, knighting ceremonies and even take part in the Wee Highland games.

 Bring your family and friends for a charming Scottish day-adventure full of entertainment, feats of triumph, and fun activities.

Enjoy the traditional features of Scottish Highland Games, such as massed bands, pipe band exhibitions, individual piping, heavy athletics, highland dancing, and children’s games, including “Shoot the English Knight”!

Performances of Scottish country dancing and Celtic bands provide delight all day.

Take old-fashioned pleasure in viewing the “hielan’ coos” (highland cattle) and blacksmith demonstrations; tug of war competitions; and reenactment exhibitions throughout the day.

Visit each clan tent to discover whether you have Scottish ancestry and shop at the Scottish and Celtic merchant booths.

Visit the British Car exhibit and see great examples of 1959,1961,1963 and 1967 Austin-Healey 3000s; 1950, 1965 and XJ6 Jaguars; 1970 and 1978 Austin Minis; 1953 MGTD; and 1969 and 1978 MGBs. This is a special treat for auto lovers.

As in the past, we continue to keep the admission prices reasonable in keeping with our commitment to making the Spokane Highland Games a family event. In keeping with that goal, you’ll notice that this year the parking is Free!

Friday: Piobaireachd events for Open, Grade 1, Grade 2

Saturday: Full Games events

Organized by the Celtic Arts Foundation, this excellent event usually features the Dowco Triumph Street Pipe Band, plus an amazing lineup of pipe bands, Highland dancing, fiddling and other Celtic crafts.

Features the SFU family of pipe bands, plus other BC area bands. Full solos, Highland dancing...

A full games in the BC Interior.