The 56th Dunedin Highland Games and Festival will be held at Highlander Park, in Dunedin, Florida, on Saturday, April 6, 2024 from 8am until 6pm. The annual Scottish festival, presented by the Dunedin Scottish Arts Foundation, has been held in Dunedin since 1967.
It was first presented as a coordinated fundraiser event for the Dunedin middle school, high school, and City of Dunedin pipe band programs while simultaneously presenting a Scottish event for the Dunedin community. The Dunedin Scottish Arts Foundation maintains this tradition today by donating the proceeds of the Highland Games back to those same three pipe band programs each year.
Since 1967, the event has grown to become one of the largest events in the United States, attracting the largest gathering of piper’s drummers and Highland dancers in Florida each year. For the 2024 event, the festivities will kick off in downtown Dunedin on Friday afternoon, April 5th. There will be a “Highland Games kickoff party” with live Celtic music and food vendors Friday afternoon, and a Parade of Pipe Bands and Clans in the evening down Main Street in downtown Dunedin. This will be a fun and exciting way to celebrate Tartan Day 2024 and an excellent start to the Dunedin Highland Games and Festival.
Saturday, April 6, 2024 is the big day at Highlander Park in Dunedin, Florida. All parking is off-site and free for the Highland Games, at the nearby Dunedin High School and two local Churches, with complimentary continuous shuttle service all day. Gates will open to the public at 8 AM. Tickets are $25 at the gate and can also be purchased in advance for $20 online at Eventbrite.com. There are also VIP tickets available which covers entry to the Games plus access to the VIP tent which includes catered food throughout the event, as well as complimentary beer, wine, soda, and water. Tickets for the VIP tent always sell out fast.
Something for everyone to enjoy
There is something for everyone to enjoy at the Dunedin Highland Games and Festival. We expect to welcome upwards of 50 Scottish Clans and Societies to our Clan Village area at the game. This is a fun opportunity to learn more about the various Clans represented as well as a chance to explore your own genealogy connections. There are live Celtic music bands performing throughout the day, both in the Clan Village area and in the Main Entertainment Tent/Beer tent area. There are also demonstrations of traditional Scottish Country Dancing.
Scottish Heavy Athletics competitions start early in the morning and always attract a large audience. Events such as the hammer throw and caber toss are always crowd favorites.
The Opening Ceremony at noon is an event you don’t want to miss, featuring pipe bands, and the Parade of Clans. The 2024 Florida Open Highland Dance Championship will feature hundreds of Highland dancers from all over North America and Scotland competing in various traditional Scottish Highland dance events. This event has grown so large that it now runs inside the auditorium of the Dunedin Community Center in Highlander Park.
Bagpipes, drumming, and pipe bands are a highlight of the Dunedin Highland Games. Solo piping and drumming competitions will start at 8 AM. The Dunedin Scottish Arts Foundation proudly brings in Adjudicators from all over North America and Scotland of the highest caliber, which in turn attracts piping and drumming competitors of a high standard. The pipe band contests will begin in the afternoon, and the Closing Ceremonies, where all bands will play together, will be the largest massed bands event in Florida, consisting of hundreds of pipers and drummers. It is an impressive and majestic presentation that is not to be missed! There are lots of vendors to explore at the Dunedin Highland Games.
A vast variety of Celtic merchandise vendors, as well as a large variety of food vendors, offering selections from hamburgers and chicken tenders to Scottish meat pies! The committee hope to welcome you to Dunedin on April 6th and wish you a great day at the Highland Games.
For the latest information on the Dunedin Highland Games and Festival, please visit www.dunedinhighlandgames.com and follow them on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/DunedinHighlandGames