When the crowds start flooding the gates of this year’s Glengarry Highland Games on August 2 & 3, they will be following in the footsteps of thousands of fans who have made this festival one of the most popular in Eastern Ontario and one of the premier celtic events in North America.

Just as you prepare for your Spring Break travels, it’s time again – time for the ‘Where in the World is our Glengarry Scot?’ Contest!

The Contest is simple - Send in a photo of an individual or group with the iconic Glengarry Highland Games logo to media@glengarryhighlandgames.com*. This year for our 75th edition of the Games we are adding a little twist – every photo entered must have a “75” displayed in the shot. We can only imagine how creatively these 75s will appear.

Amazing! Awesome! Fantastic! Magical! All these words were heard describing this year’s Glengarry Highland Games. The weather in a season where warnings have become common, was absolutely perfect with warm temperatures and sunny skies. The crowds kept on coming and coming with a forty-five minute wait at noon hour on Main Street to enter the parking areas.

When you drive into Maxville this week, there are lots of signs that the Games are here. Banners span the road at both ends of the village welcoming everyone to one of the biggest events in Eastern Ontario. On the Games site, the huge tents are up, the grass is a plush green carpet, flags are flying and a crew of busy volunteers is putting the finishing touches to make the fairgrounds sparkle.

The Glengarry Highland Games and the Maxville Manor have had a special relationship for many years. Every year, the Official Party including our special guest, visit the Manor to bring the spirit of the Games to the residents who are unable to be with us at the fairgrounds. For many of those residents, the Games were a big part of their lives and the annual visit by the Games Official Party is a real highlight for them.

Over 200 years ago when the first Scottish settlers came to Glengarry, for sure there were a few treasured fiddles among their scant possessions and that’s where it all began. Any dance, funeral, wedding and social event would undoubtedly have one or two fiddlers who would keep the music going all day and night long. In the 1970s, the sound of the fiddle was getting less frequently heard until a small group of Glengarrians got together to form the Glengarry Strathspey and Reel Society with the goal of reviving and enhancing the playing of the celtic fiddle in Glengarry. Their success can be measured in the numerous fiddlers playing today in the counties and beyond, and in a style that is unique – the Glengarry style.

We’re looking for some volunteers to work the gates on Friday, August 4, 2023. There are two shifts, one from 8:00am-12:00pm and another from 12:00pm-4:00pm.

While the pipes are the main attraction for many at the Glengarry Highland Games, for others it’s the celtic entertainment that draws them to Maxville to enjoy the best in local bands and an added mix of groups from across North America. This year’s Games entertainment lineup will keep that promise and fill the site with great tunes on August 4 and 5.

Across North America, pipe bands are preparing for their trek to Maxville and the Glengarry Highland Games this August 4 and 5. The Games are home to the North American Pipe Band Championships™ and this year the competition brings together three previous champions to vie for that prestigious title leading up to the World’s Championship in Glasgow, Scotland.

One of the popular sights at each Glengarry Highland Games held in Maxville, Ontario, is the red serge of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as they lead the Official Party onto the infield during the Games Opening Ceremonies. This year there will be many more sightings of that fabled uniform as the Games salutes the RCMP on its 150th Anniversary. In 2023, the RCMP is marking 150 years of service to the public and to the security of our country. The RCMP has been an iconic Canadian institution since 1873 and their red serge uniform is synonymous with Canada and is recognized around the world. It is the national police service of Canada, with a team of over 19,000 police officers across the country and is unique in the world, providing policing services at the international, federal, provincial and municipal levels. Members serve in communities from coast-to-coast-to-coast, keeping Canada and Canadians safe.

The Glengarry Highland Games is seeking businesses and organizations to advertise in the annual souvenir program. Advertisement costs range from $100 to $700.

With the warmer weather and sunny skies, everyone’s thoughts turn to summer plans for attending the Glengarry Highland Games on August 4 & 5 in Maxville. Top of everyone’s list is who will be headlining the Friday Night Concert and this year’s band promises to deliver a show that will make for a great evening of celtic music.

This summer at the 2023 Glengarry Highland Games there might be as many hockey jerseys as kilts in the audience when the Games welcomes John Wensink as Guest of Honour. Wensink joins an illustrious group of Canadian celebrities who have filled that role including Prime Ministers, a Governor General, an astronaut and other noted Canadian figures.

The pipes|drums Magazine has awarded its 22nd annual New Year’s Honours to recognize the greatest collective performances, results and contributions made in the world over the past year. The Honours are decided by a panel of 20 pipers and drummers evenly dispersed around the world who are in tune with what’s going on with piping, drumming, politics, products and events.

The Glengarry Highland Games was nominated in the Event of the Year category and was the only Canadian nominee in a field of six.

The Welcome signs are hung, the huge tents are up, the infield grass is cut, the fresh paint is dry and the Glengarry Highland Games is ready to welcome everyone Friday morning, July 29th to the long awaited 73rd edition of one of the Eastern Ontario’s best summer festivals.

People flock to the Glengarry Highland Games knowing it will be a fantastic celebration of all things Scottish. In fact it’s one of the largest Scottish celebrations in North America. It is also the site of serious competition where World, Canadian and Games records are fought for and set. Athletes and musicians from around the world come to the Games knowing the mark is set high and the competition will be fierce.

To many people the Glengarry Highland Games means the sound of the pipes and the sight of the massed bands marching across the infield, but to many others the Games is the greatest opportunity to hear all of your favourite celtic bands in one place at one time. After a long wait, everyone is ready for a real ceilidh and this year’s entertainment lineup at the Games will be sure to please everyone.