Kincardine Scottish Festival expresses “non-confidence” in PPBSO

The popular Kincardine Scottish Festival in Kincardine, Ontario, has revealed that it plans to send the Pipers & Pipe Band Society of Ontario an official letter of no confidence in the PPBSO’s board of directors.

According to a source close to the matter, the organizers of the event, which is held near the banks of Lake Huron in the province’s scenic Bruce County, have become disenchanted with ongoing difficulties negotiating the PPBSO’s turnkey staging of solo and pipe band competitions and massed band ceremonies.

The PPBSO reportedly charges the Kincardine Festival $25,000 for their services.

The message shared on the record with pipes|drums from Kincardine Scottish Festival’s board of directors stated:

We are writing to inform you of a significant decision made by the Kincardine Scottish Festival & Highland Games to issue a letter of Non-Confidence to the PPBSO.  Due to the sensitivity of this matter, no other comments in relation to this action and decision will be made at this time.   As a result, we have paused negotiations related to planning this aspect of competition for 2025 until further notice.

To Our Community and Supporters,

The Kincardine Scottish Festival & Highland Games remains deeply committed to the bands, musicians, and members of the PPBSO who have contributed to our success.  As a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and celebrating Scottish culture, we hold ourselves and our partners to the highest ethical standards.

We greatly appreciate your understanding and continued support during this challenging time. We are confident that our future efforts will continue to reflect the values and traditions that make the Kincardine Scottish Festival & Highland Games special. We look forward to sharing more information about our plans for 2025 in the near future.

At publication time, PPBSO President Andrew B. Giles had not responded to a request for comment.

The festival’s website has posted the statement for all to access.

The Kincardine Scottish Festival is one of the most popular events on the Ontario competition calendar. The solo competitions are held throughout the town’s streets, and the band events are staged in a shaded area.

The approach was to be an alternative to cancelling the competitions outright in the wake of road construction and closures that allegedly would prevent the games from holding the usual array of PPBSO-sanctioned band and solo competitions.

The PPBSO reportedly pressured its member bands and accredited judges not to participate in the Battle of the Bands, cautioning that it would be a precedent-setting event in Ontario.

The Montreal Highland Games, sanctioned by the PPBSO for 37 years, suspended operation for several years but returned in 2015 with a similar “battle of the bands” limited competition format. Using PPBSO-accredited judges, the Montreal Highland Games has continued that unsanctioned approach without any known protest from the PPBSO. Judges reportedly receive $500 plus expenses for an afternoon of work at Montreal.

A source close to Kincardine said that Andrew B. Giles was unwilling to negotiate further with the Kincardine board, repeatedly stating that they would have to accept the familiar $25,000 turnkey slate of competition events or “move on.”

Giles was asked about the Kincardine matter at the PPBSO’s special general meeting on October 10, 2024, but he refused to entertain any questions unrelated to the meeting’s agenda, which was to consider new association bylaws.

The Kincardine Scottish Festival will celebrate its twenty-sixth anniversary in 2025.