Wrapping Up 2018 Bagpiping in Vancouver

Rocky Mountaineer president Steve Sammut, Armstrong Group CEO Peter Armstrong and RM Piper Mike Chisholm in the new RM tartan livery.

It’s been a great 2018. As both the bagpiper for Rocky Mountaineer Rail Tours and the chair/executive director of the BC Highland Games & Scottish Festival, we have had a very busy year.

The Rocky Mountaineer season is wrapping up next week, with another great year and thousands of international guests passing through the main RM station in Vancouver. This year the company unveiled its new company tartan, representing the colours of the Rocky Mountaineer trains that depart and arrive in Vancouver from Seattle, Whistler, Jasper and Banff, Alberta from April until October. The fabulous tartan was designed by Vancouver designer Gordon Kirkbright and registered with the Scottish Registry of Tartans last spring. It has proven very popular with guests and hopefully we will see more of it in coming years.

Lafarge Lake Park

As the new executive director of the BC Highland Games, we are also in a major transition. After 27 years, we have decided to move from Percy Perry Stadium in Coquitlam, across the street to the redesigned Lafarge Lake Park.  This is a major move for the Games, and it will present plenty of challenges. However, our Games committee along with the City are focused on making this move to what we believe will be a much better venue in 2019. More grass, more shade and more room to move around. Hopefully we will see the stock dogs return to herding sheep around the field along with more bands, more music and new attractions. It’s a big job, but the Games are getting bigger so this new venue should be a great fit.

Now, with the days getting shorter and colder, it’s time to look forward to Remembrance Day events around the region. I hope to see you out there someday.

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