Coming to a parade near you

The world famous Vancouver Police Pipe Band will be special guests of honor at this year’s Fourth of July Parade in Point Roberts. Their appearance was arranged by friend of the band and local summer resident Douglas Hume.

The Vancouver Police Pipe Band, the world’s oldest continuously serving police pipe band, has spent the last 100 years traveling the world to play and as Vancouver’s ambassadors.

The band celebrated its centennial in 2014, and traveled to England to perform at the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. This was the first time in the 350-year history of the ceremony that a non-military band performed at the iconic ceremony.

In 1914, the Vancouver Police Department was made up largely of Scottish immigrants, who longed to keep the traditions of “the auld sod” alive in Canada, and in that vein, the department created the pipe band. The all-police personnel makeup of the band has changed over the last century. Today, the pipers and drummers come from all walks of life, and are led by 17-year Vancouver Police veteran and pipe master Cal Davis.

The Vancouver Police Pipe Band has long maintained close ties to the U.S., playing many important events, from the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge to an impromptu retreat ceremony when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The pipe band continues to cross the border to play for events today, including ceremonies honoring police officers killed in the line of duty.

For more information on the band, visit pipeband.ca. For more information on the Point Roberts July 4 parade, contact chamber of commerce president Heather McPhee at 360-945-6675.