Liam Cunningham, 17, and Savannah Walker, 15, of Bainbridge Island recently performed at the Bainbridge Island Kiwanis Club breakfast.

The pair are bagpipers with the Northwest Junior Pipe Band, a nonprofit organization that provides an alternative music experience for youth up to age 18. The band is based in the city of Shoreline and is open to any young person in the Puget Sound region interested in Scottish piping or drumming.

The band was started in 1995 and will be celebrating their 20th anniversary next year.

The band is a competition and performance-oriented pipe band and travels each summer to Scottish Highland Games to compete against other bands and play for the thousands of people who attend these events.

On the performance side, the band participates in local parades, including the Seattle St Patrick’s Day Parade. They have also performed at Folklife Festivals and WinterFest.

The band is planning to return to Scotland in August 2015 to compete in the World Pipe Band Championships, an event is hosted each August by the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association. Bands from all over the world travel to Glasgow to compete, with the winner in each competitive category being named World Champion.

In addition to the Worlds, the band will also compete in at least one Highland Games in Scotland in preparation for the big event.

Kiwanis is an organization devoted to the principle of service; to the strengthening of our individual community and national welfare; and to the strengthening of international goodwill. Kiwanis membership spans the globe with more than 300,000 members in more than 96 countries.  Founded in 1958, the Kiwanis Club of Bainbridge Island has a long history of supporting the local community.

The members of the Northwest Junior Pipe Band are raising funds to help pay for their trip and members of the Bainbridge Island Kiwanis Club generously donated to help the kids in their fundraising efforts.

For more information on the Northwest Junior Pipe Band, visit www.nwjpb.org.