May, 2008. Monterey, CA. A very special event-filled "2nd Annual Monterey County Celtic Week" will be held the week of June 28, 2008 through July 6, 2008, including the 4th Annual Monterey Bay Piping and Drumming School and the 41st Annual Monterey Scottish Games & Celtic Festival.

The 4th Annual Monterey Bay School of Piping and Drumming will be held from Saturday, June 28th to Thursday, July 3rd, at Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, California. The award-winning Monterey Bay Pipe Band will perform during the 4th of July Parade in downtown Monterey. Also during the school, on Monday, June 30th, there will be a Pub Night at the Mucky Duck in Monterey with informal performances by the piping and drumming instructors. On Wednesday, July 2nd, from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM, there will be a very special Celtic Concert at the Stevenson School Auditorium, featuring world class bagpipe, drumming, and Celtic fiddle instructors from Scotland and the United States, performances on the Celtic fiddle, Irish pipes, border pipes, tin whistle, dancers from the Allison Barnes Academy of Irish Dance, and other Celtic performers.

The 2nd Annual Monterey County Celtic Week will culminate in the not-to-be-missed 41st Annual Monterey Scottish Games and Celtic Festival at Monterey County Toro Park, 501 Monterey Salinas Highway, on Saturday and Sunday, July 5 and 6, 2008. The Festival will feature a wide array of Scottish and Irish musicians, Scottish Highland and Irish dancers, tasty British food and crafts, thrilling athletic events, and much, much more. Special entertainment will include John Taylor and Hamewith, Seamus Kennedy, the Black Irish, and McCloud, the ten foot tall stilt walking Scotsman plus his Rusty Happenings show. For more details, check out (http://wwww.montereyscotgames.com) or call (831)333-9423. Advance tickets will be available at Monterey Insurance Agencies (Monterey), Collezione Fortuna Boutique (Carmel), Acme Coffee (Seaside), and Carousel Consignment Boutique (Salinas) after June 1, 2008.

Due to its success and popularity the last few years, the internationally renowned National Piping Centre, based in Glasgow, Scotland, in association with Monterey Celtic Arts Academy (MCAA) is returning to the Monterey Peninsula to again present the 4th Annual Monterey Bay School of Piping and Drumming at beautiful Stevenson School in Pebble Beach. This Piping and Drumming School attracts novice and advanced bagpipers and Scottish drummers from around the United States. This outstanding school will be held from Saturday, June 28, 2008 to Thursday, July 3, 2008, and will again feature some of the world's finest piping and drumming instructors. Internationally renowned bagpipers and teachers at the school will include an outstanding team, including world class award-winning pipers, Simon McKerrell, Finlay MacDonald, Lorne Cousin and Colin MacLellan. The drumming instructor will be the champion snare drummer, Blair Brown. New this Year! There will be Celtic fiddle instruction by the award-winning Patsy Reid. In addition, instruction on Irish (Uilleann) pipes, border pipes, and tin whistle will also be available by Simon McKerrell and Finlay MacDonald.

For more information for the Piping and Drumming School, please check out http://www.thepipingcentre.co.uk or email Roddy McLeod at reception@thepipingcentre.co.uk, call Michel d’Avenas at 831-372-2020 or email bagpipe11@comcast.net.