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Delta Police Pipe Band crossing sea & border

After performances in Cowichan Valley last weekend, band off to Seattle tomorrow for fundraising concert

The Delta Police Pipe Band is accustomed to overseas trips on alternate years; the trip for 2011 being to perform at the Windsor Castle Royal Tattoo in the presence of members of the Royal Family and, on the final night, Her Majesty, The Queen. The projected trip for 2013 is a six-city tour of Germany with MusikParade 2013.

However, the band undertook an overseas trip this year, across the Strait of Georgia to Duncan for the Cowichan Valley Festival last Saturday. It's the third time the band has taken part in the festival and brought up the rear of the Grand Parade.

Drum major Moe Coll was adamant the band would put as much into its performance in Duncan as it did in Windsor.

"Playing to a Canadian audience in the relaxed and colourful setting of Duncan is a bonus for us," he said.

"It was an ideal opportunity to showcase numbers that we have been practicing to a real audience and get the feedback that we needed to polish our performance," added pipe major John Ralston.

Following lunch with their hosts at the Royal Canadian Legion, the band formed up and marched to the area outside the Legion where it delighted the crowd with a full concert repertoire, including its spectacular Highland dancers.

They were then joined by the Cowichan Pipes and Drums and members from many pipe bands on Vancouver Island to provide the 100 pipers pipe major Gordon Pollock had visualized to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Cowichan Festival of Flowers Parade.

The evening was taken up with a convivial social event at the home of pipe major Gordon Pollock.

Their travels are not over as a large contingent of the band will cross the border tomorrow for a fundraising concert for the fledgling Seattle Police Pipes and Drums.

The Seattle band was established in January of last year following the lineof-duty death of a Seattle police officer. The Seattle Firefighters Pipes and Drums performed during the funeral and it was from that tragic and emotive experience the inspiration came to form their own police pipe band.

The call for members went out and the overwhelming response of over 70 Seattle police officers has allowed a training program to be established.

Still in its early days, the band has sought the assistance of the Delta Police Pipe Band and the Boston Police Gaelic Column of Pipes and Drums to perform in a concert at the Pigott Hall Theatre at Seattle University on Sunday. This will serve as a fundraiser as well as provide the band with performance experience.

Members of the Delta Police Pipe Band are looking forward to the trip and view their experience As Hands Across the Sea to Duncan and Hands Across the Border to Seattle.