The Victoria Highland Games, a fan favourite Celtic festival celebrating Scottish heritage since 1864, returns May 18 and 19.
Expected to welcome more than 25,000 people over the two days, the event brings attention to the longstanding heritage of Scottish music, dance, sport, food and community.
This unique weekend event kicks off at 8 a.m. on May 18 at Topaz Park with the official opening ceremonies following at 12 p.m. on the Main Stage. The full line up includes Scottish Highland dancing, heavy events, pipe bands and the international drum competitions featuring the World Champion SFU Pipe Band Drum Corps and Saturday evening guest performances by the Third Marine Aircraft Wing Band from Dan Diego, the University of Washington Huskies Drum Line, Naden Band of the Royal Canadian Navy and The Canadian Scottish Regimental Band.
Calling prospective pipers!
While the event at its core aims to familiarize guests with Celtic traditions and values, it’s also key to reigniting Scottish musical traditions on Vancouver Island.
Bagpiper and band manager, Paul Mundt, says in his years as a mentor and Celtic musician, he has seen a significant decline in young talent due to the rise of modernization.
“We’re kind of in a desperate situation. The youngest players in Victoria are around 40 years of age. We are seeing a lapse as there’s not a lot of young players on Vancouver Island who can perform at the level they once did years ago. As we get the word out there, the hope is that more youth get involved, continuing the development of their skills all while inspiring their peers to get involved as well.”
To keep this long standing art form alive, Mundt and his fellow pipers have established Capital City Pipe Band, a program formed by the Victoria Scottish Community Centre Society and sponsored by Dr. Kenneth Wilson.
Here, aspiring young Highland dancers, drummers and pipers ages eight to 18 are invited to develop their skills or learn from scratch with the long-term goal of nurturing young talent through mentorship and competition in regional and national circuits.
Now nine months into the collective, the junior piping band is in the expansion phase with four new students competing in this year’s Highland Games chanter class. One drummer is playing in the grade four solo drumming competition.
As the team grows in the classroom and on the stage, Mundt has high hopes for the group with plans to compete against other youth pipe bands such as White Spot Pipe Band as early as next year.
Prospective students are encouraged to get in touch for placement or private tutoring information – email infopipeband@vicscotcentre.ca or call Mundt at 604-364-3692.
Tickets for the Victoria Highland Games including wine tasting or the whisky school can be purchased online at www.victoriahighlandgames.com. Tickets for the games itself are also available at the gate and children 12 and under get in free.