Las Vegas Highland Games 2026

**OC Richard** · 15th April 26, 03:23 PM

They're this weekend (18 and 19 April) and the weather should be gorgeous.

There are fewer pipe bands than usual, the reason being that the NorCal Celtic Festival (in Woodland) was just last weekend, and several bands usually seen in Vegas decided to attend Woodland instead.

They need to spread these two Games apart a bit.

I'll be there Saturday as an attendee. (My band was one of the ones who usually attends Vegas but chose Woodland this year.)

**OC Richard** · 20th April 26, 01:13 PM

I met jsrnephdoc in person! We had a great chat and listened to the pipe bands.

This guy had a wardrobe malfunction

**YOJiMBO20** · 20th April 26, 04:32 PM

He’s a drummer Richard, you can’t expect too much from him.

**User** · 20th April 26, 08:05 PM

You both look smashing! Las Vegas is close enough to me for road trips. But my wife would kill me if I attended Highland games there. She wants every second in Vegas to be spent at the strip.

**jsrnephdoc** · 21st April 26, 08:46 AM

Originally Posted by User

You both look smashing! Las Vegas is close enough to me for road trips. But my wife would kill me if I attended Highland games there. She wants every second in Vegas to be spent at the strip.

Ouch! We moved here less than a year ago. Our Realtor (my wife's daughter) did at least ONE thing right. She made sure that even though we have a Las Vegas mailing address, we're just about as far removed from that infernal "strip" as possible but still technically BE in Las Vegas. Just a few miles away there are nice mountain meadows with wild horses wandering in them, mountains tall enough to host decent winter sports activities, and nice paved bicycle paths. And it's true that there are nice restaurants on "the strip," but I avoid it as much as humanly possible.

And, I learned Saturday that OC Richard's fund of knowledge regarding piping and tartan is as impressive as it appears in print!

It was my first time in the enormous park where the games were held (at the same time as some other gatherings). My son and I left our car in a small lot, wandered quite a ways honing in on the sounds of solo pipers, but at the end of the day there were no such sonic guideposts to get us back to the car. An HOUR to find it!

**User** · 21st April 26, 04:37 PM

Originally Posted by jsrnephdoc

... we're just about as far removed from that infernal "strip" as possible but still technically BE in Las Vegas. ...

Love makes me do crazy things. Like when I married a woman who enjoys crowds, noise, and displays of opulence.

Opposites attract, I suppose.

**OC Richard** · Yesterday, 02:37 PM

Originally Posted by User

Las Vegas is close enough to me for road trips. But my wife would kill me if I attended Highland games there. She wants every second in Vegas to be spent at the strip.

My wife loves Vegas, loves The Strip, loves gambling. I dislike all that stuff.

I love going to Highland Games. You couldn't drag my wife to one.

So for the Vegas Highland Games my wife will get a nice room at The Venetian comped.

Saturday and Sunday we'll have breakfast together and go our separate ways until dinner.

We've done this for many years, but this year she hit a snag: she couldn't get a room comped anywhere. Even her concierge guy couldn't do anything. We wondered why until we found out that there was some big wrestling event going on that weekend. So for the first time in ages I drove out to Vegas solo.

**OC Richard** · Yesterday, 02:40 PM

Originally Posted by YOJiMBO20

He’s a drummer Richard, you can’t expect too much from him.

I suspected as much.

I generally see pipers wearing their kilts more or less properly and drummers wearing their kilts low.

Why this is, who can say.

**User** · Yesterday, 04:44 PM

Originally Posted by OC Richard

...
We've done this for many years, but this year she hit a snag: she couldn't get a room comped anywhere. Even her concierge guy couldn't do anything. We wondered why until we found out that there was some big wrestling event going on that weekend.
...

Hah! I took the family to Las Vegas last November because my mother in law was visiting and she wanted to go. The rooms were expensive, and it seemed half of the roads were closed. Turns out I ignorantly took us during some racing event on the strip. After that, I swore I would always check for events in Vegas before planning a trip, so I can avoid crowds from events I'm not attending!