Inverness to host piping extravaganza
An extravaganza of piping will be descending on Inverness this week.
With the Northern Meeting taking place at Eden Court from 4th September and eight pipe bands massing at the Highland Military Tattoo at Fort George from the 5th to the 7th, the Highland capital will be ringing to the sound of the pipes.
The Tattoo will play host to this year’s Grade 4 World Champions, the 2622 (Highland) Squadron RAF Pipe Band along with the pipes and drums of 3 SCOTS (Black Watch) and 4SCOTS(The Highlanders). Pipe bands from RAF Lossiemouth, Gordonstoun School and the Highland Cadets will also be appearing along with the Forres Pipe Band and the City of Inverness Youth Pipe Band.
Pipe sergeant with Juvenile World Champions Dollar Academy, Sandy Cameron, is the Tattoo’s lone piper and will also be competing in the Silver Medal at the Northern Meeting.
Starting with an RAF Typhoon fly past and culminating in a sensational fireworks display, other highlights of the Tattoo include a performance from the Hellcats ensemble, from the West Point Academy in the USA. The oldest military band in the US, the Hellcats are making their first ever visit to the UK in their 220 year history.
Military history will also take centre stage in the production.Local historical re-enactment company Battle Scar Entertainments will be helping to set the scene by recreating part of a local battle between the Government forces and the Jacobites. Soldiers from the Royal Regiment of Scotland and the Royal Engineers will be acting out vignettes depicting the building of Fort George and the raising of the Seaforth Highlanders and the recruitment, training and departure of Highland soldiers to fight in the First World War.
The World War I theme is continued with a display from an SE5A biplane, one of the Allied Forces’ great assets in the air battles of the Great War.
The Highland Military Tattoo runs from 5th to 7th September and forms part of Highland Homecoming 2014, a year-long programme of events alongside the Ryder Cup and Commonwealth Games.
Shuttle buses provided by Stagecoach will run to and from the event from Inverness and Nairn.
The buses will leave Inverness Bus Station at 17.45, 18.00, 18.15 and 18.30, calling in at Inverness Retail Park and Ardersier on the way to Fort George. A bus will also leave Nairn Bus Station at 18.30. Return tickets will cost £5 from Inverness and Nairn and £1 from Ardersier and can be bought on the bus.
Doors open at Fort George at 18.15 with the performance kicking off at 20.00 and due to finish at 21.30. Food and drink will be on sale in the hospitality tent.
Parking will also be available at the Fort with additional car parking provided next to the visitor car park.
Support for the event has come from Event Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Inverness Common Good Fund and Highland Council.
All profits from the events will be donated to Armed Forces charities.
Ticket priced from £10 to £30 are still available from Ticketmaster Scotland on 0844 499 9990. Tickets are also available from Eden Court Box Office on 01463 234234 or at the Highlanders’ Museum at Fort George. Booking fees apply. For more information about the Tattoo go to http://www.highlandmilitarytattoo.com/.
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