A part of the Glengarry Highland Games since the early 1960’s, the Mass Highland Fling provided a delightful and beautiful sight for the audience. Thompson Goddard Photo

MAXVILLE – The pipes were calling people to Maxville for the 77th edition of the Glengarry Highland Games (GHG), with thousands of people responding to the call. The 2026 edition of the GHG were held at the fairgrounds in Maxville over Fri. July 31 and into Sat., Aug. 1.

Glengarry County is known for its protecting and promoting its Scottish heritage. The early European settlements of the county date back to the time of the fur-trade and the coming of Scottish loyalists following the American Revolution. The world-famous Glengarry Highland Games began in 1948 when a group of local businessmen made the decision to hold an event which would help to ensure this heritage would continue to be an important part of local population.

The first games attracted close to 10,000 people to the Maxville event, with eight pipe bands competing during the Games and in 2026 the GHG hosted 61 pipe bands, with visitors numbering in the tens of thousands.

Throughout this small North Glengarry, the sound of the Scottish bagpipe was heard. While one made their way to the front gate of the fairgrounds, pipe bands and solo pipers could be seen and heard adding to the atmosphere of the Games.

For the spectators there was a seeming unending series of events which featured ongoing entertainment featuring pipe bands, vocalists, dancers as well as a multitude of competitions. People were able to enjoy bagpipe, fiddler and highland dancing competitions as well as watch as competitors vied for a top spot in sports such as the sheaf toss, hammer throw, tug-of-war and the ever-popular caber toss.

For those seeking information on clan affiliations, there were representations from several clan societies providing visitors to the Clan Buildings with an opportunity to discover a bit of their Scottish heritage. On Saturday afternoon to the sounds of the South Glengarry Pipe Band, proud members of their clans marched around the main infield to the delight of people watching.

The Clan Parade was followed by the opening ceremonies featuring the Royal Canadian Mountain Police and members of local branches of the Royal Canadian Legion forming an honour guard, in recognition of the centennial of the RCL, and special guests. A massed Highland Fling featuring dancers from the MacCulloch School of Dancing and a Massed Pipe Bands event provided the crowd with several memorable moments.

One of the visitors at the event was Nancy Payne from the Peterborough area, who was attending the event for the first time in near 30 years. “It’s amazing” said Payne, “I have forgotten how impressive it is”. One of the reasons for her attending this year was a friend was a member of a pipe band from Winnipeg which was competing in the games. Information on the website of the GHG mentioned there were 61 pipe bands attending this year, with 1,447 pipers and drummers performing in the massed bands evening performance on the Saturday.

A very large thank you is provided to the organizers, the volunteers, the competitors, the vendors, to participants and to all who contributed in some way to the very successful 2026 Glengarry Highland Games. Tapadh leibh.