Clan Innes bangs drum for Dufftown and District Pipe Band
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A CLAN society is banging the drum for Dufftown's pipe band – the only one in the world whose members wear the Innes tartan.
The worldwide membership of the Innes Clan Society, which boasts strong Moray roots, has built up an enduring link with the band. It funded some of the band members to visit and perform in the US in recent years.
The society handed over a cheque to the band this week for $550 (£418) – the latest in a series of donations to the musicians – which will be used to upgrade kit and kilts for its younger members.
Dufftown and District Pipe Band has been unable to practice or play this year due to Covid but hopes to get permission to tune up next year.
Pipe major Kim Paterson said previous Innes clan donations had helped purchase kit for new band members, new practice equipment for learners such as chanters, drumsticks and drum pads, and new drums and sets of pipes.
Kim said: "Our trip to the US in September 2016 funded by Clan Innes was an amazing experience for us and definitely led to the strengthening of our connection to the Innes Clan Society.
"The hospitality we were shown was incredible and we were made to feel very much part of the Clan Innes family.
"It was a great learning experience which we have taken back to Scotland and shared with others in regards to how a Highland Games operates in the US.
"We were delighted that some of our Clan Innes friends managed to come across to Scotland last year to experience Dufftown Games, which led to new relationships and connections with the pipe band as a whole.
"We hope to continue developing this link with the Innes Clan Society and encourage more of our Scottish Innes families to join the society."
Earlier this month the society handed over a donation to Elgin Museum for its efforts to highlight the Innes contribution in Moray.
The society was set up in 1984 at the Virginia Scottish Games in the US. Visit Clan-Innes.org or the Clan Innes Facebook page for more information.
