Robert Burns Dinner
Join the
Thistle and Kudzu Scottish Society in A Night of Scottish Food, Dancing, Singing, and Bagpipes
Celebrating the 249th Anniversary of the Birth of Scotland’s
Favorite Bard.
Classic
Center, Oconee River Room, Foundry Street, Athens, GA
Saturday, January
26, 2008
6:30 PM Arrival &
Seating
7:00 PM
Dinner & Program
Live Entertainment
by Bob Hay & the Jolly Beggars
The premier of
Athens own Thistle & Kudzu Pipes & Drums
Dancing by the
Thistle & Kudzu Scottish Country Dancers
Food and Drink
provided by Center Stage Catering
RESERVATIONS
Tickets for the Burns Dinner and evening entertainment can be reserved
at the Classic Center Ticket Office. Price is $30 per person.
Phone the Box Office Monday - Saturday 10 AM-6 PM at (706) 357-4444 or
go to The Classic Center
website to order tickets online.
Tables for 10 guests can be reserved when purchasing tickets at the box
office. Tickets will not be available at the door. Deadline
for reservations is January 23rd. Please order early if you want
to attend as the dinner was sold out last year.
Burns Dinner History
A
Burns Dinner is a celebration of the life and
poetry
of
Robert Burns,
author of the version of the
Scots
song
Auld Lang Syne,
which is generally sung at
Hogmanay
and other
New Year
celebrations around the
English-speaking
world.
There
are tens of thousands of Burns Dinners held throughout the world each
year on or near the poet's birthday,
January 25.
Burns dinners are most common in
Scotland
but they occur wherever there are Burns clubs, expatriate Scots, or
indeed lovers of Burns' poetry.
The
first dinners were held in
Ayrshire,
Scotland at the end of the
18th century
by Robert Burns friends on the anniversary of his death,
July 21.
They have been a regular occurrence ever since.
Thistle and Kudzu - Burns
Dinner Program
Start of the evening
Guests gather and mix while Athens own Bob Hay & the Jolly Beggars play
songs by Robert Burns. Athens own Thistle & Kudzu Pipes and Drums
will also play rousing traditional Scottish music.
Host's welcoming speech
The
evening will begin with the hosts short welcome and grace is said using
Robert Burns' Selkirk Grace:
The
Selkirk Grace
Some
hae meat and canna eat,
And some would eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
Sae let the Lord be thankit.
Presentation of the haggis
Everyone will stand as the Haggis is brought in on a large platter while
a piper plays bagpipes and leads the way to the host's table, where the
haggis is presented. Burns poem Address To a Haggis will then be
recited.
Supper
At
the end of the poem, a toast will be proposed to the haggis. Then the
company will sit and enjoy the traditional meal of hamely fare:
Cock
a Leekie Soup
Haggis along with Shepherds Pie *
Tatties and Neeps (mashed potatoes and turnips)
Mushy Peas
Tipsy Laird (sherry trifle)
*(Vegetarian Shepherds Pie will be available)
When
the meal reaches the Coffee & Tea stage the program will resume.
Immortal memory
This
is an entertaining short speech, remembering some aspect of Burns' life
or poetry. It may be light-hearted or intensely serious.
There
will then be a toast to Robert Burns.
Toast to the lassies
This
was originally a short speech given by a male guest in thanks to those
women who had prepared the meal. However nowadays it is much more wide
ranging, and generally covers the male speaker's view on women. It will
be amusing but not offensive; particularly bearing in mind that it will
be followed by a reply from the "Lassies."
There
will then be a toast by the men to the women's health.
Reply to the toast to the
lassies
This
is occasionally (and humorously) called the "Toast to the Laddies," and
like the previous toast it is generally quite wide ranging. In it a
female guest will give her views on men and reply to any specific points
raised by the previous speaker. Like the previous speech this will be be
amusing but not offensive.
There
will then be a toast by the women to the men's health.
Works by Burns
After
the speeches, Robert Burns poems will read by guest speakers, sung by
Bob Hay & the Jolly Beggars and played on the bagpipes.
Dancing
There
will be a Scottish Country Dance demonstration by the Thistle and Kudzu
Scottish Country Dance group of Athens.
Closing
Finally our host will wind things up, calling on one of the guest
speakers to read The Poets Grace by Burns, after which everyone will
stand, join hands, and sing
Auld Lang Syne
which brings the evening to an end.
The Poets Grace
O thou, in whom
we live and move-
Who made the sea and shore;
Thy goodness constantly we prove,
And grateful would adore;
And, if it please Thee, Power above!
Still grant us, with such store,
The friend we trust, the fair we love-
And we desire
no
more. Amen!
