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Pipers, drummers ready for BC Highland Games

The Coquitlam event is in the middle of the circuit for piping, drumming competitors
MIKE
Mike Chisholm is the chair of this year's BC Highland Games in Coquitlam

Mike Chisholm may be 4,000 km away from the place he grew up but he feels right at home in the Tri-Cities.

The former CBC reporter spent his early years in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, a place steeped in the piping tradition.

But when he arrived on the other side of the country in 1997, Chisholm found a similar community, one with plenty of world-class pipers and drummers — some in the SFU pipe ensembles, others in the Port Coquitlam-based Dowco Triumph Street Pipe Band.

This year, to honour the vast musical talent in the Tri-Cities and elsewhere in the Pacific northwest, Chisholm is heading up the 85th annual BC Highland Games in Coquitlam.

It’s a stop in the middle of the competition circuit that started last month in Victoria and ends next month in Seattle before the worlds takes place in August on the Glasgow Green, a venue where both SFU and Dowco have performed.

A member of the RCMP ‘E’ Division Pipe Band, Chisholm and his team expect to see more than 10,000 competitors, entertainers, volunteers spectators for the solo and group contests — as well as dance and heavy and distance events — next Saturday at Coquitlam Town Centre Park.

Still, this year’s games are on a new level, ramped up to accommodate the piobaireachd (pronounced “pea-brock”) that has moved down from the SFU Burnaby campus.

About a dozen of the circuit’s best pipers will play classical tunes Friday night at an event open to the public.

As well, Chisholm’s non-profit group has also reorganized the stadium field for the Saturday attractions.

The south end will include the British car display, a Highland Pavilion for cultural offerings and an expanded whisky tent with double the seating capacity.

The dance stage will also be in the south section while the north end will have the entertainment grandstand, solo drum/pipes zone, the eateries plus a beer garden.

Meanwhile, the centre field will be clear for Quidditch matches — played by Tri-City, UBC and SFU teams — and the massed bands. To the east, where the grass is, will be the heavy events, the sheepdog demonstration and kids’ area.

Chisholm said having the middle field open “gets people out of their seats. We want them to move around and see what’s out there.”

The set-up change comes as a result of a survey done at last year’s games, said Chisholm who was its 2015 marketing director. “We listened to a lot of what people had to say: what works, what doesn’t work. I think this year we found a good fit that we can expand on for years to come.”

Eric Kalnins, Coquitlam’s tourism manager, said the festival is one of the biggest with visitors travelling from as far as Oregon and creating economic spinoffs, especially for the hospitality industry. The games also tie into the city’s 125th birthday celebrations.

“This is the only BC Highland Games and Scottish festival of its kind in the Lower Mainland and truly is a celebration that everyone can enjoy,” Kalnins said. “Coquitlam is an ideal central location with hotels and restaurants close by and, next year, the Evergreen Line will provide even easier access to Town Centre Park.”

Funding for the $200,000 festival comes from ticket and food sales, vendor licences and government grants.

• Visit bchighlandgames.com for online tickets to the piobaireachd, VIP Highland reception and Saturday whisky tasting and festival, which is sponsored in part by The Tri-City News. Volunteer positions are still needed to be filled. Email lneill44@telus.net.

jwarren@tricitynews.com
@jwarrenTC

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