Canada stays indoors for Vancouver, Toronto Easter weekend events

The world’s two biggest indoor piping and drumming events will take place on the same day when the British Columbia Pipers’ Association and the Toronto Branch of the Pipers & Pipe Band Society of Ontario put on their annual inside gatherings in Vancouver and Toronto, respectively, on Saturday, March 30th.

The BCPA’s 81st Annual Gathering will actually start on March 29th at the Burnaby Campus of Simon Fraser University with its Professional Piobaireachd competition in which 22 are entered to play for the historic “cairn” trophy. Eight contestants have entered the Professional Snare Drumming event.  

The balance of solo and pipe band competitions will be held on the Saturday. The biggest event put on directly by the BCPA, the Annual Gathering is importing guest judges Allan MacDonald of Scotland, Northern Ireland’s John Scullion and British Columbia native-son Colin Clansey, each of whom will also perform in recital.

Meanwhile in Canada’s biggest city and the fourth-largest city in North America, the Toronto Indoor Games have attracted a larger entry than usual, with almost 100 solo competitors and nearly 20 pipe bands represented in quartet and full band events across all grades. The Toronto Police is the only Grade 1 band entered for the Indoor, again held at Moss Park Armoury in the city’s downtown.

The BCPA’s Annual Gathering have both of the province’s Grade 1 bands, Dowco-Triumph Street and Simon Fraser University, entered. The competitions will be video-streamed via the organization’s website, and the BCPA has for the first time in its history opened up the event to sponsorship.

pipes|drums is a sponsor of both the Annual Gathering and the Toronto Indoor with, respectively, advertising and donations to a silent auction.  

Stay tuned to pipes|drums for results and images from both events as they are made available.