159th Scottish Highland Gathering & Games
Sat, Aug 30, 2025 – Sun, Aug 31, 2025
California’s largest and longest-running Scottish Games, featuring traditional competitions in Scottish heavy athletics, Highland dancing, piping and drumming, as well as live entertainment, cultural exhibits, and massed pipe bands.
Costa Mesa Highland Games
Sat, May 24, 2025 – Sun, May 25, 2025
A vibrant Scottish festival in Southern California, featuring pipe band competitions, athletic events, and cultural exhibitions.
NorCal Celtic Festival
Sat, Apr 26, 2025 – Sun, Apr 27, 2025
A free festival in historic downtown Woodland showcasing Celtic music, dance, food, and culture, including pipe band competitions, solo piping and drumming, massed bands, and Scottish Highland dancing.
Pipes and Pubs #1 at Idol Beerworks
Sat, Mar 22, 2025
A unique piping event combining traditional music with a pub atmosphere, hosted by the City of Sacramento Pipe Band.
Red Hot Chilli Pipers Concert
Fri, May 9, 2025
A live performance by the internationally acclaimed bagpipe rock band, known for their energetic ‘bagrock’ style, blending traditional bagpipes with contemporary rock music.
Redding Solo Competition
Sat, Mar 1, 2025 – Sun, Mar 2, 2025
A sanctioned solo piping and drumming competition held in Redding, California, attracting participants from across the region.
san diego st. patricks day parade
Sat, Mar 15, 2025
Saturday, March 15, 2025 San Diego, California
san francisco st. patricks day parade
Sat, Mar 15, 2025
174th San Francisco St Patrick’s Day Parade hosted by the United Irish Societies on Saturday, March 15, 2025.
university of california riverside bagpipe degree
Ian Whitelaw, the new pipe director at UCR, brings a lifelong love of piping and a passion for its history and culture to the position. Ditto drumming director Ed Best, who has been playing Scottish drums since he was 8.
uilleann piping and whistle lessons
Uilleann piping, low whistle and tin whistle lessons in the Los Angeles Area. s The Uilleann Pipes are a distinctive type of bagpipe native to Ireland. Unlike the more widely recognized Scottish Highland pipes, Uilleann pipes are known for their sweet, expressive tone and the ability to play a wider range of notes. The name “Uilleann” comes from the Irish word “uille” (elbow), highlighting a unique feature of the instrument: it is played with a bellows operated by the elbow to supply air to the bag, rather than by blowing into it. This method allows the piper to play continuously without the need for pauses to take a breath.