Bagpipe things

I was in Kansas City, MO for the Winter Storm 2009 events and concert. This event is about bagpipes and drumming, Scottish drumming. The best pipers and drummers from around the world come to the bleak cold Midwest every year to give lessons, compete for prizes and money, participate in a concert, and connect with fans, friends, and colleagues from around the world. This event is sponsored by MHAF - Midwest Highland Arts Fund, a non-profit group dedicated to the promotion and support of piping and drumming. I flew down on Thursday and flew back home on Sunday. It was an incredibly amazing event. Here are the best pipers and drummers in the world playing.

Thursday, I volunteered to help sign in pipers and drummers. It was colder in that hotel than it was my garage in Minnesota. For a Marriott not to keep the lobby and 2d floor heated is just beyond belief considering what you pay for a room there. Thom and I stayed at the Holiday Inn across the street. I turned in around 2 am and Thom came in around 3am and went to sleep around 5am. We got up at 6:30 am.

Friday, I was dressed in my Highland outfit and I spent the day running the timing lights. The timing lights were timed so when the piper came out to play for the judges, he had 4 minutes to tune his pipes and then start his competition set of tunes. So I manned the lights from 8 am to 5 pm and by the end of that shift I was completely shagged. The piping was remarkably outstanding. You look at the lineup of contestants and judges and they are the top namesin North America and Scotland. At 11 pm they had the awards ceremony for all the different competitions from the whole day. I was able to figure out some and completely lost it on others. I went to bed early in the morning, 3 am.

Saturday, I helped set up the community Church for the evening's concert and then went for a wee walk. The church was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and it was a real gem. built to FLW's height requirements. The space is charming, intimate, and wonderful acoustically. I also had some Gate's BBQ brought in by the sponsors. YUM YUM!! I am glad I do not live in KC. I stumbled on the Nelson Atkins Art Museum. What a lucky break for me! I wandered in and saw the various galleries. They have a gorgeous Caravaggio - St John the Baptist in the Wilderness, a painting of such beauty and depth. They also had two Lucas Cranach the Elder paintings - Three Graces and the Last Judgment. The Three Graces was just beautiful and invoked memories of the past. I walked around and watched people looking at the art as I myself looked at the art. People watching is great fun and two great places are museums and airports.

The concert that night was so cool. The piping was world class as was the drumming. The cd will be out next year. I picked up the cd from last year and it is a real show stopper. There was an old grandma sitting in front of me. She had been brought to the concert by her grandson. She must have been in her nineties but she loved the piping and drumming. After the concert was the party - Winter Steam. Newcastle Brown Ale sponsored the event and provided a prodigious amount of beer for the festivities.The party lasted all night. I finally went to bed at 4 am so I could get up for my 8:30am shuttle to the airport.

Would I go again? Hell, yes! It was very exciting to be part of this event. A major world event in the piping and drumming world right here in the Midwest. Thank you MHAF for all your work at making this a truly great event.