Asheville – On January 25th, Asheville Sister Cities, Inc (ASCI), a 501c3 charity, and the Robert Burns Night Supper Committee hosted a traditional Burns Night Supper, with bagpipes, fiddles, celtic dancers, and of course, haggis, to mark the 256 birthday of Scotland’s greatest poet, Robert Burns. Tom Good, a volunteer for the event said, “Burns lived at a time of drastic transition for the Scots as their culture and traditions were subsumed by the union with England. Burns devoted the end of his life to preserving these traditions of freedom, love of country, nature and life through song and poetry, and was thus seen as an embodiment of Scottish culture.” Burns Night is a national holiday in Scotland, where it has been celebrated since 1801.
For many people around the world Robert Burns is considered to be an accomplished poet, but to the Scots he is a national hero, with many of his poems turned into songs. Burns’ most famous piece is sung around the world on New Year’s Eve, Auld Lang Syne.
Dunkeld and Birnam, Asheville’s Sister Cities
Asheville extending a hand to become sister cities to the neighboring towns of Dunkeld and Birnam, Scotland after a delegation first visited Highland Perthshire in 2012. The “twinning” occurred in 2017. According to Asheville Sister Cities representative Rick Lutovsky, “there is a growing interest in developing this sister city relationship, drawing upon our many common characteristics and interests: the considerable Scottish ancestral roots throughout the Southern Appalachians; parallel economic characteristics such as art, music, recreation and tourism; the striking physical beauty of our two settings; education; health affairs including an holistic approach to wellness; a strong sense of community; the Presbyterian (Church of Scotland) heritage; and, an abiding love of nature and commitment to stewardship of the surrounding physical environment.”
Tartans, Whiskey, Poetry, and Music
The event began with a reception and an optional whiskey tasting, led by Highland Brewing’s Oscar Wong. The whiskey tasting coincided with a seminar examining Burns’ poetry and songs led by Doug and Darcy Orr.
The main event began with a tartan parade led by Major Piper, EJ Jones quickly followed by the Selkirk Grace, live streamed by Reverend Fraser Penny of Dunkeld Cathedral in Scotland. Next came the crowd favorite, the Fetching, Addressing, and Toasting the Haggis, described as, “Piper, Chef, Haggis Bearers, and Henchmen fetch the Haggis, Neeps and Tatties [to the Piper playing the tune “A Man’s, A Man for A’ That”, a song Burns wrote in 1795 and is famous for its expression of egalitarian ideas of society and that a man’s value is his character and honesty, not his wealth or social class.]”
Fiona Richie, of NPR’s The Thistle & Shamrock
A highlight of the night was when co-hosts, Doug Orr and Rick Lutovsky were joined, live streaming, by Fiona Richie, host of National Public Radio’s The Thistle & Shamrock and Chair of Dunkeld and Birnam Friends of Asheville, NC, to welcome guests and, along with Jessica Coffield and Ken Nelson, President and Vice President of ASCI, describe the inter-city program between Asheville and Dunkeld and Birnam and the support given to various charitable projects in Scotland.
Performances included fiddle music by Pete Clark of Dunkeld and Andrew Finn Magill, a jig and reel by dancers from the local Carpenter Academy of Irish Dance, and the reading of some of the bard’s poems. There was also art made by Scottish children on display, with individual pieces for sale and an auction raising funds for charitable projects in Scotland.
Robbie Burns
Burns, 1759-1796, was born in the southwest of Scotland after England and Scotland were joined in 1707. He witnessed the decline of traditional Scottish culture and devoted the end of his life to preserving this fading culture by traveling the country collecting poetry and songs. From an impoverished childhood, he became a self-taught wordsmith, having written over 500 poems and songs.
To see photos and videos of the event on our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/thetribunepapers
All net proceeds go to the ASCI for charitable projects in Scotland. Prior donations have gone to the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, the Niel Gow Memorial in Birnam, the Birnam Arts and last year to the Dunkeld and Birnam Archive program.