ScotFestBC: The BC Highland Games is a Metro Vancouver Scottish festival that takes place in mid-June at Lafarge Lake in Coquitlam.
In 2024 the festival happens on June 14th & 15th which is the Friday and Saturday of the Father’s Day weekend.
For the event’s official website, visit scotfestbc.com.
This article contains information about the following:
Admission | Schedule | Sports, Music & Dance | Workshops & Demos | Entertainment | Sporting Events | Tips & Advice | ScotFestBC Video | Other Information
Click any of the above links to jump to a specific topic, or continue reading to learn all about the event.
ScotFestBC: The BC Highland Games & World Music Festival
ScotFestBC is an annual event featuring athletic competitions, Celtic dancing, live music, whisky tasting and bagpiping! It’s a family-friendly event and lots of fun!
The British Columbia Highland Games take place on a Friday and Saturday in mid-June, 2024, by Lafarge Lake at Town Centre Park in Coquitlam.
ScotFestBC has been a terrific event for decades! If you like live music, cultural events, outdoor markets, athletic competitions, whisky and everything to do with Scotland, you’ll love this event! We highly recommend it!
Conveniently, the event takes place near the Lafarge Lake-Douglas SkyTrain Station.
For tickets and the most up-to-date information, visit the official ScotFestBC website.
Festival Admission
In 2024, admission to ScotFestBC and the British Columbia Highland Games on the Friday is free. The only ticketed portion of the evening is the Whisky & Oysters event, for which prices are to be confirmed.
Tickets are required to enter the festival on the Saturday in 2024. They cost $25 for adults, $20 for students and seniors, and $15 for children (ages 6 to 12). Whisky School Classes cost an extra $45 per person.
Festival Schedule
Below is the schedule for 2024. We divided the schedule up into Competitions, Workshops & Demonstrations, and Live Entertainment.
Some of the activities take place on the festival’s Main Stage, while others happen in the field and other locations. Many of them overlap with each other.
(Note: The following event times, locations and other details are subject to change.)
Sports, Music and Dance Competitions
Friday, June 14th, 2024
Heritage Stage
- 5:00 pm – Open Piobaireachd
Saturday, June 15th, 2024
Main Stage
- 8:30 am – Vancouver Open Highland Dancing Championships
In The Meadow
- 8:00 am – BC Pipers’ Association Solo Piping and Drumming Competition
- 2:00 pm –Pipe Band Competitions (Grades 4 and 5)
- 4:15 pm – Pipe Band Competitions (Grades 1 and 2)
In the Heavy Events Field
- 9:00 am – REMAX Scottish Heavy Events Competition
On the Big Tent Stage
- 10:30 am – RSPBA Pacific Rim Drumming Championships
For tickets and full details visit the official ScotFestBC website.
Workshops and Demonstrations
A number of whisky-tasting and other cultural workshops and demonstrations take place in various locations including in the Whisky Tent and the Scottish Cultural Tent.
Friday, June 14th, 2024
- 7:00 pm – Whisky & Oysters
Saturday, June 15th, 2024
- 11:00 am – Neil MacLean: “100-years of Scottish Highland Games in BC” historical and photographic display
- 12:00 pm – Zephan Knichel: a closer look at “The Great Highland Bagpipe”
- 1:00 pm – Robert MacDonald: “The Gallows Herd”, “Trouble with the Neighbours” or “A Fresh Look at the Glencoe Genocide”
- 2:00 pm – Vancouver Gaelic Society
- 3:00 pm – Ashley MacIsaac: Fiddle Workshop
- 4:00 pm – Robyn Carrigan: Learn Gaelic milling frolics and why they were important
Live Entertainment (Non-Competitive Schedule)
Below is the music and live entertainment schedule for 2024. (Note: Times and performer details are subject to change.)
Friday, June 14th, 2024
On the Main Stage
- 6:00 pm – Opening Ceremony
- 6:20 pm – “Pipes in the Park” with the SFU Pipe Band and more
On the Big Tent Stage
- 5:00 pm – The Hounds of Cuchulain
- 7:30 pm – Live Celtic Music
Saturday, June 15th, 2024
On the Big Tent Stage
- 12:30 pm – Hounds of Cuchulain
- 1:30 pm – The Whiskey Dicks
- 2:45 pm – Bob Collins
- 4:00 pm – Hounds of Cuchulain
- 6:00 pm – The Whiskey Dicks
- 7:30 pm – Ashley MacIsaac
On the Heritage Stage (Hosted by DJ Paul Manocha)
- 1:00 pm – Strictly Scottish
- 1:45 pm – Mariachi Los Dorados
- 2:30 pm – Kvitka Ukranian
- 3:15 pm – Taiko Highland Fusion with Onibana Taiko & Shot of Scotch Highland Dancers
- 4:00 pm – Compaigni V’ni Dansi
In The Meadow
- 1:00 pm – JP Fell Pipe Band
- 1:30 pm – RCMP E. Division Pipe Band
For tickets and the most up-to-date information, visit the official ScotFestBC website.
Sporting Events
In addition to bagpiping and dancing events, the BC Highland Games also involves Heavy Events competitions which are open to athletes ages 19+ (although competitors ages 16 to 18 can register with a parent’s permission). Registration for the events closes a couple weeks before the games.
There are three categories of Heavy Events: Distance Events, Height Events and the Caber Toss.
Distance competitions include the Stone Putt, Weight for Distance Throws and the Scottish Hammer Toss.
Height Events include the Weight Over Bar competition which involves throwing a 56-pound weight (for men) or a 28-pound weight (for women) over a bar. Similarly, the Sheaf Toss involves throwing a 10- to 20-pound simulated bale of hay over a bar with a pitchfork.
The Caber Toss is the event where contestants throw giant poles as far as they can, with each pole weighing from 70 pounds to 130 pounds and being between 15 feet and 23 feet long.
Tips & Advice
Below are some suggestions to help you make the most of your visit to the BC Highland Games.
TIP #1: Take public transit if you can. The Lafarge Lake – Douglas SkyTrain Station is right next to the site and there are bus stops as well.
TIP #2: If you can only stay for a short time, then go in the afternoon. That’s when things are most interesting.
TIP #3: If you want to attend one of the Whisky School Classes, register early as they usually sell out well in advance.
TIP #4: If you plan to compete in the Heavy Events, be sure to register at least two weeks prior to the day of the games. Also, if competing, be sure to prepare well and know what you’re doing! The weights are heavy and you don’t want to injure yourself!
TIP #5: Wear your tartan if you have some! You’ll fit right in!
For tickets and full details about the festival visit the official ScotFestBC website.
ScotFestBC Pipe Band Video
Below are a couple of videos to give you an idea of what to expect at ScotFestBC: The BC Highland Games. The first one is just a short video clip of a pipe band playing at Town Centre Park at ScotFestBC in 2022. If you attend the festival, you’ll see lots of bands like this one.
This second video shows scenes of ScotFestBC and the BC Highland Games from 2018. That year the festivities actually happened in a slightly different location. They were still at Coquitlam’s Town Centre Park, but at the other end of the park, where the stadium and running track are. More recently, the events happen near the Lafarge Lake part of the park.
Although the scenes in the following video are at the old location, they still show very clearly what the festival is all about. In the video, and at the festival today, you’ll see dancing, bagpiping, sporting events and lots of people having fun!
Other Information
For further details about the event, see the ScotFestBC: British Columbia Highland Games website. And for information about a similar event on Vancouver Island, check out the Victoria Highland Games & Celtic Festival which takes place in May.
To learn about the town and surrounding area, see our article about the City of Coquitlam.
For other events taking place in the Lower Mainland, check out the following:
- Vancouver’s June Calendar and July Calendar
- Festivals & Events Calendar
- Father’s Day Weekend Events
- Free June Events
- Free July Events
