The Cambridge Scottish Festival has been cancelled for 2026, just eight days before its planned 50th anniversary celebration at Churchill Park in Cambridge, Ontario. Organizers announced on July 9 that a severe shortage of volunteers made it impossible to safely run the event, which was scheduled for the weekend of July 18.
The festival board of directors, a group of only four volunteers who work year-round to plan the event, said they could not meet the required number of volunteers. “To be able to run a safe and successful event, we need to have enough volunteers to make that happen,” the board stated. “Unfortunately, we were unable to meet that required number this year.” The board described themselves as devastated by the decision.
The abrupt cancellation has left participants scrambling. The Pipers and Pipe Band Society of Ontario reported record entries for solo and band competitions this year. President Malcolm Bow said they were given no initial reason for the cancellation and that it “leaves a huge gap in our solo and band competition schedule.” The Highland Dancers Association of Ontario called the news a “significant and disappointing blow” to its summer season.
While organizers pointed only to a lack of volunteers, Mayor Jan Liggett’s statement suggested funding may have been a factor. She said Councillor Adam Cooper was alerted days before the cancellation and searched for outside funding, while she tried to arrange a special council meeting. However, the next regular meeting was not until July 21. The festival had received $10,000 from the Region of Waterloo’s Cultural Drivers of Tourism grant and $7,500 from the City of Cambridge’s community grant program, though it had requested $35,000 from the city.
Organizers hope to return with a larger committee and more volunteers in 2027. “We look forward to a bigger and better festival in 2027,” the board said. The festival, which started in 1975 as the Cambridge Highland Games and was renamed in 2016, typically draws over 2,000 people to Churchill Park for pipe bands, Highland dance, heavy events, and cultural activities.
