ve day 80
ottawa
may 3, 2025
A commemoration to help mark VE Day with pipers, drummers, and volunteers taking place on Saturday, May 3 in downtown Ottawa. Registration is now open for those players interested in joining up.
The idea behind this special celebration of VE Day - Victory in Europe - was created by our own Pipe Major, Bethany Bisaillion. The band has been to France to mark Vimy 100 and Normandy 75 so they wanted to bring the celebrations that Canada enjoyed to the nation's capital with a unique and creative performance.
May 3 will begin with a reception in the foyer of the Canadian War Museum at 1 Vimy Place, where we will hear speeches from experts and dignitaries, and do official photos. The reception time will be from 1 to 2 pm.
We will leave by bus at 2:30 pm to head to the respective performance points along the way, where our volunteers will drop everyone off at their appointed spots, from number 1 through 80. We ask that no cases are left on the bus so please plan accordingly. You can also make arrangements to make your own way to your performance spot rather than meet at the War Museum.
Please review the map and submit your interest in which point you would like to play at. Click on the number to make sure your preferred spot is not taken. Note that there is some construction on Wellington Street between Metcalfe and O'Connor, so we'll double up the pipers on the Parliament Hill side of the street for that block.
After all pipers have been dropped off at their spot, at 3 pm sharp, starting with piper 1 who will play a tune of their own choosing for 1 minute. Once their minute is done, the next piper will be signalled to begin by a volunteer. As each piper is finished playing, they can walk up to the next piper on their sidewalk of Wellington Street and wait as they perform, and then continue up the street towards the National Cenotaph.
The entire distance from the Canadian War Museum to the Cenotaph is 2.7 km, so please choose your position well as you're walking up from your performance spot.
Drummers on the bus will be dropped off at the Cenotaph after piper 80 has been dropped off there to wait for the pipers to arrive.
The piping will commence at 3 pm, and end at 5 pm, with the Cenotaph show starting at 5:30 pm, ending at 6 pm. If you are a drummer or guest, you can meet us at the Cenotaph for 5 pm.
When the pipers arrive at the Cenotaph, we will do a short show with 20 drummers - please use the same form to register. We will form a V to face the Tomb, with the help of our Drum Majors and volunteers.
The show will be:
1. Green Hills of Tyrol, When the Battle's Over - use 3/4 cadences. 78 bpm
2. Amazing Grace - rolls only and lots of harmonies.
3. The Black Bear (pt 1 only, repeated) and We're No Awa Tae Bide Awa (twice over)
Also 78 bpm. We are tuning to 477.
After we are done playing, we will do a group photo and then head by bus again to Deacon Brodie's Pub for one more tune and a reception from 6 to 7:30 pm - we will have free snacks for all participants.
The bus will then transport people back to the War Museum to pick up their cars. You can also stay on at the pub and enjoy your evening. Remember - you get a free dram if you head in with a kilt on!
Be sure to include your t shirt size when you sign up - we are having made special shirts done with the VE Day logo to gift all players and our volunteers for helping.
All of our volunteer positions have been filled and we are grateful for the support of Volunteer Ottawa for their great platform!
Summary of timings:
1 pm - Arrival at the Canadian War Museum for reception, speeches, photos
2 pm - Bus arrives to pick up participants
2:30 pm - Bus departure
3 pm - Piping begins
5 pm - Piping finished, all pipers to assemble at the Cenotaph
5:30 pm - Cenotaph show
6 pm - Bus collects us to go to Deacon Brodies for a tune and a reception
7:30 pm - Bus collects those people who require a ride back to the Canadian War Museum - others can stay on at the pub - it's at 247 Elgin Street
drummers registered - only 20 required.
Caelan Carr
Luke Read
Wendy Doig
Ewen MacMillan
Darryl Woods
Pete Attfield
Kevin Offord
Wendy Chaytor
Annette Campbell
Olga Waugh
Fiona Plunkett
Geoff Gander
Crystal Mills
Sue Birnie-Wortley
Peter Birnie-Wortley
Luke Read
Wendy Doig
Ewen MacMillan
Darryl Woods
Pete Attfield
Kevin Offord
Wendy Chaytor
Annette Campbell
Olga Waugh
Fiona Plunkett
Geoff Gander
Crystal Mills
Sue Birnie-Wortley
Peter Birnie-Wortley
music
Video of our lead drummer Dave playing Black Bear( pdf of score below the video) and No Awa with the 4/4 cadence. Enjoy!
| ve_day_black_bear_set_snare_score.pdf |
the venues
the canadian war museum
more information here
the national war memorial, ottawa
more information here
our partners
We are grateful for the support we have received from the following organizations:
The Canadian War Museum
Veterans Affairs Canada
The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 351, Montgomery Branch, Ottawa
The National Arts Centre
OC Transpo
Deacon Brodie's Pub, Ottawa
Parliament Gifts and Souvenirs, Ottawa
The Sons of Scotland Pipe Band
The Canadian Celtic Collective
The Canadian War Museum
Veterans Affairs Canada
The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 351, Montgomery Branch, Ottawa
The National Arts Centre
OC Transpo
Deacon Brodie's Pub, Ottawa
Parliament Gifts and Souvenirs, Ottawa
The Sons of Scotland Pipe Band
The Canadian Celtic Collective
