The all-conquering Queenstown & Southern Lakes Highland Pipe Band has its sights set on defending its title at the Hororata Highland Games pipe band competition next month.
Band spokeswoman Sheena Michie says the November 14 event is the largest Highland gathering in the South Island, regularly attracting more than 10,000 people and 700 competitors across all events.
The band’s members are feeling primed after again seeing off the opposition at the Alexandra Blossom Festival on September 26, Michie says.
After Hororata, the band’s next major comp is the Otago Southland Pipe Band Championships in Dunedin on February 13-14, where it hopes to defend the two categories it won this year.
However, the biggest highlight of 2027 is bound to be its trip to China, where it will perform at a woodwind event alongside a Whakatipu kapa haka group and Invercargill’s Ascot Brass Band.
Michie says the band’s members are eagerly awaiting the arrival of a full new set of Andante drums, cases and harnesses from Northern Ireland some time around the end of the year.
The purchase was made possible as a result of funding from Queenstown’s council, Community Trust South, Aotea Gaming Trust and Highlands Motorsport.
The band’s also looking forward to “showcasing a new look”, making changes to its uniform with the help of donations from the Otago Masonic Trust and the Callis Trust, she says.
The band is holding its annual meeting at the Arrowtown Community Centre on October 29 at 7.30pm, and is inviting anyone who may be interested in joining.
Michie says bagpipes or drum novices are welcome, as the band can provide any level of support as it needed, and the New Zealand Pipe Band Association has just launched an online training scheme.