It may be St. Patrick’s Day, but when the Celtic nations get together for a party, it’ll be tough to miss the Scots. Downtown Vancouver will resonate with music this weekend as the 2017 Vancouver Celtic Festival kicks off on St. Patrick’s Day, Friday March 17. Vancouver’s Robson Square is the center of the action …
Read more “Shamrocks and Thistles, bagpipes and bodhran’s in downtown Vancouver”
We all knew it was coming, and now it’s official. After a long career as Vancouver’s go-to bagpipe doctor, Mike McDonald is retiring. In a letter to customers, he says he is going to  “try to take advantage of the so called Golden years. To this end, I have enjoyed the business and opportunity to …
Read more “The End of an Era at Vancouver’s Bagpipe Repair Shop”
There’s a good reason forward-thinking countries have banned or tightly control the over-the-border movement of products that contain ivory, such as bagpipes. A proper certificate for an ivory/silver set of pipes is a hassle, but worth it if it slows down the barbaric poaching of elephants in the wild. But now another key component of the …
Read more “First ivory restrictions on bagpipes. Now African blackwood.”
A beautiful tune, played by PM Matt MacIsaac, with PM Katie Buckland and a Canadian Forces pipe band from a concert in November, 2012. A perfect way to commemorate a week of remembrance for our veterans and for our country.
It may appear meditative, or a bit reflective, but a bagpiper playing under the grey, overcast skies of November in Vancouver is likely thinking about the weather. The warm days of spring, summer and early fall are behind us. Now it’s time to start wrapping up the year with  Remembrance Day 2016 and all the other events that lead …
It was an amazing trip full of music, dancing, friendships, an engagement, a loss and a lot of memories. From September 26 to October 3, 2016, almost 30 RCMP pipers, drummers, dancers and their spouses from BC, Edmonton and Regina travelled to China to participate along with dozens of other musical and dancing acts in the …
Have you thought about walking down the aisle to the skirl of the great highland bagpipes? If so, you are not alone. In the past year, there has been a resurgence of brides and couples inquiring about adding cultural and musical impact to their wedding ceremony. From grand entrances at a church, to leading in the groomsmen, …
My first piping instructor – still going strong, with her father’s pipes. What the story doesn’t say is that when Barb’s father showed up in Scotland during leave, to pick up and pay for his pipes, his regiment had already paid for them out of respect.