Pipes, kilts and lots of Highland dancing at the Kingston Scottish Festival

The 13th annual Kingston Scottish Festival was held today at the Rideau Acres in Kingston.

Hundreds of people came out to celebrate and indulge in a little Scottish culture.

Andy Willis drove six hours from Sunridge, Ont. to attend the festival. “This event is fantastic. There are so many new young people coming in the pipe bands, and it’s a great thing for the kids to start it up because it was dying for years and now it’s coming back.”

The event’s highlight was the bagpipe competition. Sixteen teams participated, including bands from Barrie, Lindsay, Ottawa, and of course, Kingston’s Rob Roy band.

Chris Bell, the lead drummer in the Rob Roy pipe band from Kingston, said, “I wish everyone well I hope everyone has their best performance but I hope we come out on top.”

The competition was judged by four individuals who by the end of the event would select three winners.

The Kingston Scottish Festival has been running for the past 13 years and for the last decade it has been hosted right here at the Rideau Acres.

The event also featured Highland dancing, a form of competitive dance that was developed in the Scottish highlands in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The goal of the festival is to keep Scottish culture alive and to educate youth in the community.

“It brings a lot of people in who probably normally wouldn’t have been out here at the campground,” said Leslie Stewart, event co-organizer of the Kingston Scottish Festival. A lot of people come and walk around or if they’ve never experienced any Scottish heritage.”

The festival will be held again in Kingston next spring.