Red Deer Firefighters Pipes and Drums

08/19/2026

This week’s band practice was a special one!
Band doublets have been patched out, buttons sewn on, ready to issue to members. We’re excited to debut this piece of uniform at our upcoming performances next month.

The band has the honour of performing at the Fallen Firefighters Memorial on Sunday, September 13th at City Hall.

We got to Kilt In THREE more members, Paul, Noel and Ethan.

We met Noel at Piping Hot Summer Drummer last year. He said he was relocating to Red Deer and was looking for a band to play with. This is his first time playing with a pipeband.

Paul is an old friend and no stranger to the pipes & drums scene, having played in several bands previously. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our circle.

Ethan is our snare drumming extraordinaire and our recently appointed Drum Sergeant. Ethan is a Red Deer Royals alumni. He’s also the drummer for Face the Earth !!

A toast to the commitment and positive attitude they bring to our circle. We’re so glad to have them with us. Keep up the excellent work gentlemen! 🥁🎵

08/19/2026

At some point the thought changes from:
"I want to learn the pipes."
to: "These are my people." 💯 🎯

Recruitment may bring people through the door, but culture, purpose, and belonging are what make them stay. A look at why the grass in another band is not always greener, and why sometimes the best growth happens when we are willing to walk through a little mud together.

08/04/2026

We have to give a special Happy Birthday shout out to… Us! 🎂

Sunday marked 2 years since the RDFFP&D was officially incorporated. We are officially in the toddler stage.

A lot has changed in that time.

What started as a few close friends trusting a vision to create a pipeband representing our Fire Department has grown into something far beyond uniforms, equipment and performances.

In the beginning, our focus was simply getting off the ground: building infrastructure, applying for grants, recruiting, practicing, and navigating all the challenges that come with starting a pipeband.

Now, our questions have become bigger.

What kind of culture are we creating? What kind of experience do we want people to have? How can we contribute positively to the greater pipeband community?

We know membership numbers are one way to measure growth, but we choose to look at different markers:

• People wanting to come to practice
• Members taking initiative
• People feeling proud to wear their band kit
• New members feeling welcomed

Our biggest challenge right now is that we can’t outfit people fast enough (and we know that’s a pretty great problem to have). This thing we started has grown legs.

We are incredibly grateful for the support of our families, friends, fellow Alberta pipebands and IAFF Local 1190. We did not build this alone.

This week, we pause to appreciate the journey.

Thank you to everyone who has been part of our story so far.

07/26/2026

Another big day for our crew on Saturday.

Sherwood Park Highland Games Sherwood Park Highland Gathering
A great showing by all our soloists.
Andrew earned Gold in Piobairaechd, Silver in 6/8 March
Tyler earned Silver in Piobairaechd
Katie earned 4th in Piobairaechd

All three earned “Above Grade Level” comments on their Piobairaechd! Musicality and expression are really coming through in these tunes.
The private lessons and personal practice are paying off. Keep up the great work.

Competition aside, seeing familiar faces and meeting new ones is always a positive to the day. Our community is small, but mighty. The more we talk with other bands, we recognize we all have the same goals in mind. Keeping Pipeband Culture alive and thriving.

After the games, we jetted back to Red Deer and a mini band performed at Captain Tweedale’s Wedding.
Thank You for making us part of your celebration. The band had a great time performing and dinner was immaculate. Tyler couldn’t stop talking about the delicious short ribs.
Wishing Luke & Natalie many years of happiness! ❤️

07/19/2026

Henderson Group performing Dreams of Old Pa Fogerty into Galician Jig for the Student Recital at Piping Hot Summer Drummer.

Each group selects their concert tunes beginning of the week, given a few days to learn the music and play it on Thursday evening.

07/19/2026

Well, we’re back to everyday life and have come down from the rush of excitement that is Piping Hot Summer Drummer. It’s hard not to feel the sting of the post Piping Hot blues. 😞😥 PHSD ran July 6-10th and saw over 100 pipers in attendance!

Noel, Andrew, Katie and Tyler spent a week on SilverStar Mountain resort, receiving piping instruction from the best of the best.

It truly is a phenomenal week to play music together, learn new tunes and tips, see familiar faces and meet new friends. We can’t say enough great things about it. Put this week long experience at the top of your list for Summer plans!

07/06/2026

Speaking with a piping friend Saturday night and the topic of band social media came up. Social media is a wonderful tool to share what we’re up to, celebrate milestones, tell stories that make individual members feel seen. Social media is great, but there’s so much more to it than posting.

We think carefully about the culture we want to create, who is the target audience, and what message we want to put out. Part of that is developing our identity and shaping our band’s culture.

Questions we often ask are:
1. How do we want members to feel in this band?
And
2. How do we make the band look approachable?

We’re intentionally building an identity. As Tyler says, we’re building the plane as we’re flying it. ✈️
The stories we tell celebrate new members, highlight milestones, create emotional investment and make people feel like joining would mean belonging to something meaningful.

Many service bands representing fire/police departments take on a regimental identity, honouring members, carrying qualities of solemnity and professionalism. There is a seriousness there, which is not wrong, however we purposely chose a slightly different approach.

We decided to show the inner workings of a pipeband, that band can be a welcoming, fun place where people can belong to something meaningful together. There really is no secret to this. The playbook is wide open. It’s about knowing your people and leadership that genuinely cares for its members.

Each person in band has talents. Finding those talents and encouraging others to utilize those in band is valuable.
There’s a reason we don’t have PM Tyler run the social media. He is a whizz at tuning pipes, but needs support with posting a Story to Facebook. 😅
We still love him. 🫶

07/04/2026

Calgary Stampede Parade Global News with the
Calgary Fire Pipes & Drums

07/04/2026

Our members joined the Calgary Fire Pipes & Drums for the Calgary Stampede Parade 🤠

Thank You to our brothers & sisters from CFD for your kindness and hospitality.
Your support to our band is invaluable.
We hope to see you all again soon.

Happy Stampede!