The 29th Annual Skagit Valley Highland Games and Celtic Festival is set to take place on July 12th and 13th at the Skagit County Fairgrounds in Mount Vernon, Washington. A full slate of Solo Piping and Drumming, Quartet, Drum Fanfare, and Pipe Band Competitions will be offered on both days of the Highland Games, with over $30,000 available in prizes.
The weekend kicks off on Friday, July 11th, with a Glenfiddich Champions Night at the Littlefield Celtic Center in Mount Vernon, WA. This free event will feature performances by recent Glenfiddich Champions Callum Beaumont, Willie McCallum, and P/M Stuart Liddell MBE, all of whom will be judging the piping competitions that weekend at the Skagit Games.
On Saturday July 12th, sponsored and endorsed by the Gordon Duncan Memorial Trust, the Skagit Valley Highland Games will hold the second annual Gordon Duncan Memorial Kitchen Piping Competition. This event was created to honor the legacy and music of Gordon Duncan and is open to grade 2, grade 1, and open level solo pipers. The format of the event is a 5-minute long anything-goes freestyle event. The only formal requirement is that each competitor must include at least one Gordon Duncan tune in their selection. Gary West has been confirmed as one of the judges of the event, with others to be announced. Prizes: 1st. $500, 2nd. $350, 3rd. $200, 4th. $100, 5th. $50.
On Sunday July 13th the Skagit Valley Highland Games will hold the second annual Skye Memorial Jig Competition. This event is in memory of Skye Richendrfer the Founder and Director of the Celtic Arts Foundation who passed away in November of 2022. Skye was a great piper, visionary, and community organizer who made his life’s work the continued promotion of world-class piping in the Pacific Northwest. Competitors are to play one jig twice through and the jig must be a minimum of four parts long. Once the competitor has finished their tune, they must play themselves off the stage with a tune of their choosing. The Skye Memorial Jig Competition is open to highland pipers of any grade level. Prizes – 1st: $500, 2nd: $350, 3rd: $200, 4th: $100, 5th: $50.
The weekend will feature mainstage performances by Gary West (Master of Ceremonies), Eilidh Shaw and Ross Martin (Dàimh), and Cécilia, as well as Callum Beaumont, Willie McCallum, and P/M Stuart Liddell MBE.
Entries for all events are now open for entry here: https://www.celticarts.org/highlandgames/piping-drumming-competition
