Welcome from The President
On behalf of the Committee of the Aberdeen Highland Games, I welcome you all to the 25th running of the Aberdeen Highland Games in 2026.
Each year the Games brings excitement and Celtic tradition to Aberdeen in New South Wales for one day. I am pleased to introduce Cam McKellar as the Honorary Chieftain for 2026. Cam is from a family that came to Australia from Inverary in Scotland early on and settled on the Liverpool Plains. He has had the bagpipes in his blood since going to school at The Scots College in Sydney and has enjoyed performing with them for many years in Australia and around the world.
As always, we have a varied list of events for your entertainment throughout the day. The spectacle of the Massed Pipe Bands begins and closes the day. In between these performances we have the Pipes & Drums Band Competition, where each of the 13 pipe bands perform individually throughout the day. The unmistakable sound of the bagpipes resonates around the grounds.
The strong men of the Kilted Warriors entertain us with four events this year. Kim Durie has again organised the wonderful Highland dancers and they will be performing on and around the stage throughout the day. They will be interspersed with Master Fiddler Chris Duncan and Catherine Strutt performing traditional fiddle music of Scotland. Chris and Catherine have been performing together since 1990 and we are thrilled to have them both back at Aberdeen this year.
Fun for the children in the form of novelty events and face painting are also available.
The trade and clan stalls are positioned around the outside of Harrison Oval. This provides a unique feel and most people can easily make their way around the grounds. There will be plenty of varied food stalls for your enjoyment, some even offering traditional Scottish cuisine.
At the time of printing, we are also proud to bring the Australian Federation Guard – Precision Drill Team to the Games again this year. We look forward to their innovative displays and are honoured to have them perform for us again.
The Ceilidh is back again this year with a traditional folk band playing. It is being held at the Muswellbrook RSL and Highland dancing will begin from 7:30pm. No formal sit-down meal is being provided. Tickets are available with all Games tickets from TryBooking via our website, aberdeenhighlandgames.com.
The final event of the program is the Kirkin’ of the Tartan service. This service celebrates the tartan. As with last year, the service is being held at St Albans Anglican Church, Hunter Terrace, Muswellbrook on Sunday 5 July at 10:30am.
The Aberdeen Highland Games Book Committee have worked tirelessly to bring to you the celebration of 25 years of the Aberdeen Highland Games. I hope you take a copy home for your enjoyment.
I would like to thank all the members of the Aberdeen Highland Games Committee for their hard work in bringing the Games together in 2026. We are a small committee and the work continues throughout the year.
Thank you to all our wonderful sponsors. You have enabled us to freshen up our fabulous event this year and replace some outdated equipment. Without your support we would not be able to continue to hold the Games.
We look forward to seeing you in Aberdeen on the first Saturday in July.