The Annual Westminster Presbyterian Church Fall Festival was held on Saturday October 25, 2025 under rainy skies and intermittent showers. The wintry weather didn't dampen enthusiasm for the event, though, with games, slides and food as well as displays from the Navy Construction Batallion and local police adding to the interest. We played for an hour - mostly favorites, but each piper also played a tune they were working on as a solo. Fr. Harold, Quinn and COL Bill joined drummer Eyeler to make this another successful event.

United in Blue is a nonprofit organization committed to honoring the sacrifice of fallen First Responders by providing urgent financial support to their families during times of tragedy. Annually, a gala is held for sponsors and donors to raise money for scholarships and awards for first responders and their families, and St. John's Piper COL Bill Christmas donates his time and talent in support of this. COL Christmas is a retired peace officer and medic (what hasn't he done, one asks), so this organization is particularly special to us.

St. John’s Pipers were in attendance as family, friends, and colleagues of fallen Jackson County Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua Breshears said goodbye one last time. Deputy Brashears was killed in a single-vehicle crash on Friday, October 17, 2025, after his patrol vehicle hit two horses on Highway 15. Brashears was 45 years old and was driving home after his shift when the incident occurred at approximately 5:30 a.m.. He was taken to Memorial Hospital Biloxi, where he died from his injuries. We were honored to serve our law enforcement brothers in mourning the loss of one of our own. Special thanks to pipers COL Bill Christmas, Fr. Harold Roberts and Seve Collins, and to drummers Eyler Coates and Coco Collins who kept them in time.

Hub City Highlanders asked for our assistance filling out the piping section. Eyler Coates and COL Bill Christmas were there for the weekend. This is very different to the November H&I festival, as the primary focus was on heavy Highland sports and Celtic music. It was so much fun, though - the Pipes and Drums were the feature for the Clans gathered for the weekend!

The invitation to join the Gulfport Fire Dept Honor Guard for this prestigious event was a no-brainer. With Terry Campbell on base drum and Eyler Coates on snare, Quinn, Harold and Doc played "Scotland the Brave" as the Colors were presented and retired. Tuning, timing and execution were near perfect, leading the members to ask "what went wrong" we sounded so good!

The weekend workshop on Saturday Aug 2nd was absolutely the best. A hugely productive but exhausting day. What a blast. Information overload but thank you to Matt Beall and all his instructors, especially James and the two Steves - a brilliant choice for all who participated - was passed by P/M Muzzy and all of those from SJP who attended. Frank Hollifield worked on marching as a band and was amazing. Great instruction and camaraderie with pipers of all levels from three states in one place, learning for free. Just what I needed as a kick in the arse for my piping, personally, but thats can be said of all of us who attended. Couldn't stay awake for the ceilidh so headed home early. I have so much music to work on and so little time ... 

Once again, Matt pulled off another brilliant teaching event, and we are so very grateful and appreciative of him and his family for doing this. Please do not stop. Our collective thank you was also passed to his lovely wife as well - without her, as with ours, we wouldn't be able to play our bloody temperamental and utterly endearing instrument, let alone meet in massed numbers to make us all better. 

If you missed it, you really missed something. He'll have another event in February I am assured. I plan to be there.

Pipes and Drums assembled to honor our fallen and missing comrades once again.

Below - several events over the last 3 months our members have performed at.

St John’s Pipes and Drums participated in the Gulfport Fire Academy graduation by piping in the Honor Guard and the Academy graduates. This is a duty we enjoy and support. These new grads will serve and protect as new firefighters, and we wish them well as they begin their careers.

Thanks for the photos, Jenny Coates!

Once again, the air was filled with laughter, music, shouts of excitement and awe, and the skirl of bagpipes. The 39th Annual Highland Games and Celtic estimate opened to massive crowds and a new layout, with more food, more music and more clans represented than ever. Over 5500 people enjoyed the weekend, marred only by a very wet Sunday morning, but once it cleared, the sky was clear and the fun continued. Thank you to all who worked, played, sold, and fed our patrons - and thank you, H&I and Harrison County, again, for making this one of the premiere events on the Gulf Coast.

We were privileged to play the march in for the new graduates of this outstanding academy, and to welcome the new peace officers into their brotherhood in blue. This performance was possibly the best one we have done. Over all too soon.

668 names of lives lost in battle are listed at the Mississippi Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Ocean Springs, and St. John’s Pipers were there to add atmosphere and good bagpipe tunes. Three drummers and four pipers provided music before the ceremony, then played the Retreat to close it out.

According to the Director, our presence notched up this annual event and made a real difference. He was pleased they could present Vietnam War Veterans medallions to some of our members. We hope we will have another opportunity to work together.

The guest speaker for the Memorial Day program was retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Rob Manness. 88 names in the memorial are not paired with a photograph, but the memorial’s Buy-a-Brick Program hopes to change that. Ceremonies like this make sure that those who died in the line of duty will always be remembered, and it was our honor to assist.

Pirates, Cowboys, exotic animals and a whole slew of vendors and food trucks gathered to raise funds for the Special Olympics and hold the annual Gulf Coast Renaissance and Pirate Festival. The day was filled with music, dancing, pirate shows, jousting, belly dancing and gunfights and a slew of stage performances covering the Santa Rosa County Fairgrounds in Milton, Florida. A great time for all, with our special guest Bill Muzzy on a grand Saturday - overcast, cool and humid, typical Scottish weather! 

Doc and Eyler joined the Hattiesburg “Hub City Highlanders” and played the Royal Court into the ballroom at the Golden Nugget 11 Jan 2024. Melodies played were the Mardi Gras Tune, Scotland the Brave, Murdo’s Wedding, Rowan Tree, and Amazing Grace The Gulf Coast Carnival Association, since 1908, is Biloxi’s home of Mardi Gras and the Mississippi Coasts oldest and most prestigious Carnival organization. GCCA leads the way in providing the biggest and greatest free show on the Coast Mardi Gras Day. 

St. John’s Pipers piped in the traditional haggis, then provided Scottish entertainment for the guests at St. John’s Episcopal Church for a Burns Night dinner in January of 2024. Harold gave the Address to the Haggis, Eyler played the harp, and Bill, Josh, Steve, Quinn and James played their pipes, with Coco playing bass drum. It was a great night to dress in Scots garb and enjoy each other’s company!

We support the Gulfport Fire Department Honor Guard with piping for numerous events. We also have played for other departments, including Biloxi Police Department and the VA, supporting their ceremonial needs for many years. It is a singular honor to be a part of these amazing and dedicated professionals.

St. John's Pipers perform at the opening of all Harrison County Law Enforcement Academy Graduation ceremonies. These are usually held quarterly. We add a special pomp and circumstance as the graduates file in the auditorium. Piping has been associated with law enforcement since the days of the Irish immigrants in the 1860’s who originally gravitated to policing and fire protection because they were a large proportion of the hell's kitchen area of Manhattan during the initial waves of English (not British) colonisation of New York. The area was rough and difficult to police, and as the Irish gangs arose from the tumult, Irish police were hired as a bridge to monitor this community. Once established, with more than 25% of the force Irish or Scots, this acted as an entry path for future generations of celts to be hired, mentored and groomed for the job. They brought with them the kilt, drums and pipes of their Celtic heritage, a tradition which has persisted to this day.