FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Sundlov
March 3, 2008
(701) 572-9034

CITY OF REGINA PIPE BAND FEATURED IN
CONCERT AT THE CONFLUENCE PROGRAM MARCH 16

WILLISTON – The City of Regina Pipe Band from Saskatchewan, Canada will perform a concert of bag pipe music at the Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center near Williston on Sunday, March 16, beginning at 2 p.m. Central Time.  The Concert at the Confluence event is free and open to the public.  Free refreshments will also be available.

The pipe band is returning to the Confluence Center for a repeat performance following its popular visit in March 2007.  The program will feature the band in its Modern MacTavish tartan kilts as they play traditional Scottish pipes (bagpipes) and drums.

The concert will be held outdoors on the Confluence Center’s patio overlooking the beautiful confluence.  Visitors should dress appropriately.  In case of bad weather, the concert will be held in the nearby Trenton High School gymnasium. 

The City of Regina Pipe Band has been part of the North American pipe band scene since 1992.  The band is well known for its competition success, its concerts and community events, and for teaching others to play pipes and drums.  The band is an active part of the Saskatchewan cultural community, and reaches out to audiences in many parts of Canada. 

A group of pipe band  musicians met in September 1992 with the intention of forming a new band.  The band decided to call itself “The City of Regina Pipe Band” in December 1992.  The name reflects the band members’ pride in the city, and is a tribute to its many early settlers of Scottish origin.  Over the years, the City of Regina Pipe Band has quadrupled in size; purchased uniforms and instruments; worked to improve piping and drumming; and encouraged excellence in youth through teaching, event organization, and the formation of a Grade Four pipe band.  Over the years, the band has also organized indoor contests, gatherings for amateur pipers and drummers, an annual Celtic Festival, and many other events, as well as performed at numerous concerts and competitions throughout Canada and the United States.  For more information about the band, visit its website at www.crpb.org.

In addition to enjoying the March 16 concert by the City of Regina Pipe Band, visitors to the Confluence Center will also be able to see the exhibit, Winter Memories, featuring photographs and other items depicting how North Dakotans have had fun and stayed warm during the winter months on the Northern Plains.  It will be at the Confluence Center through April 6, 2008. 

Located one-half mile east of Fort Buford, the Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center tells the story of the confluence of these two great rivers, as well as provides the same magnificent view that Lewis and Clark Expedition members enjoyed when they visited in 1805 and 1806.  It is open year-round.  Now through May 15 it is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesdays through Saturdays, and from 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays.  It is closed on New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Admission is $5 per adult, $2.50 per child, ages 6-15, and children 5 and under are admitted free. 

Free admission to all sites administered by the State Historical Society of North Dakota (SHSND) is one of the many benefits for members of the SHSND Foundation.  Others include a 15 percent discount on museum store purchases, and the quarterly publications North Dakota History and Plains Talk.  To become a member, call the Foundation at (701) 222-1966 or visit the Foundation’s  website at www.statehistoricalfoundation.com.

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