 |
|
            
|
 |
 |
For the second year in a row, the Clan Currie Society and the National Museums of Scotland celebrated National Tartan Day on Ellis Island. Nearly 12,500 people from the United States and abroad visited Ellis Island throughout the weekend of April 4-6. Bringing together traditional Scottish crafters to the historically significant "Registry Room," The event honored the ancestors of ordinary Americans who crossed the Atlantic over the centuries to create and develop the world's greatest democracy. Though the holiday has only been formally recognized since 1998, Clan Currie has already established a successful partnership with the Ellis Island Immigration Museum and the National Museums of Scotland, engineering the annual observance at the quintessential American symbol of its immigrant heritage. It has already been invited to return for National Tartan Day 2004. Sir Thomas Harris, Her Majesty's Consul-General, NY, delivered the keynote address at the opening ceremonies on April 4. Sir Thomas has participated in Tartan Day celebrations since 1999. "The program this year is undoubtedly the best ever," said Sir Thomas and praised Clan Currie for its leadership in the event. "The enormous range of cultural, business, promotional events taking place all over New York and elsewhere is a testament to the enduring pride of so many Americans in their Scottish ancestry."
Eric Milligan, Lord Provost of Edinburgh, gave what is believed to be the first formal address Ellis Island by a person in his position. "This Tartan Day is a tremendous opportunity for the Scots in America to celebrate what is special, what is distinctive, what makes the Scottish contribution so worthwhile to the development of America," he said. Milligan, who was wearing the Black Watch tartan, recognizing the military conflicts in Iraq facing the coalition troops from the United States, Scotland and England, added that Tartan Day is about inviting people to reflect on what Scots have given the United States of America. "It has a resonance today," he said. "It has an importance for tomorrow." Working in conjunction with the National Parks Service, the National
Museums of Scotland, VisitScotland and the Scottish Arts Council, Clan
Currie hosted four Scottish crafters who demonstrated their unique skills
in distinct, handmade Scottish items. Crafters exhibiting in "A Celebration
of Scotland's Crafts" included celebrated pipe maker and musician
Hamish Moore from Dunkeld; Wilma Couper, weaver from the Shetland Working
Textile Museum; master tailor and kilt maker Robert McBain, who established
the Keith Kilt School; and Colin Adamson, classically trained Scottish
fiddle maker from Edinburgh.
Robert Currie, president of the Clan Currie Society said the interactive aspect of the exhibit, from the touch and feel of the crafters' work to the aural intricacies of the four different Scottish accents, made the event more than a typical museum experience for guests. "To see school children take hold of and play one of Colin's fiddles, to hear the students clapping to Hamish’s pipe music, you can't get that in a passive exhibit," he said. "This is real." In addition to the crafters, the Tartan Day program also included performances throughout the weekend by a whole host of Scottish entertainers, including the Highland Lassies dance team of Olivia and Kathryn Chysostom, the Jersey Shore Celtic Pipe Band, Scottish balladeer Andy Emerson, and solo pipers Jock Nisbet and Tom Barr. Filling the Registry Room with her wonderful music, Lisa Gutkin performed on her fiddle to the enjoyment of all who had come to experience Ellis Island. As was true in 2002, the events on Ellis Island kicked off a weekend full of Scottish cultural events throughout the area including the return of the Tunes of Glory pipe band parade up Sixth Avenue in New York.
The Ellis Island observance was but one of several Tartan Day activities in which Clan Currie played a prominent role. As Chairman of Tartan Day – New Jersey, Robert Currie and the Clan Currie Society joined forces with the Proprietary House Association to host a Tartan Day flag raising ceremony and Scots history lecture at the country's only surviving Colonial Governor's Mansion in Perth Amboy, N.J. Perth Amboy was the site of Scotland’s first American settlement in 1683. In addition, Governor James E. McGreevey also declared April 6 as Tartan Day in New Jersey in a proclamation prepared at the request of the Clan Currie Society. The proclamation recognized the hard work, resourcefulness and dedication of the Scottish people who helped shape New Jersey in Colonial times and the Scottish-Americans who followed in their footsteps to build the Garden State and the nation. Tartan Day is a national American celebration which recognizes the contributions of Scots and Scottish-Americans to the development of the United States. In 1998 the U.S. Senate passed a resolution recognizing 6 April as National Tartan Day in recognition of "the outstanding contribution of millions of Scots-Americans to our great nation." The date commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320 which was an influence on the American Declaration of Independence. Almost half of the signatories on the Declaration of Independence were of Scottish descent, while three quarters of U.S. Presidents have been of Scottish ancestry. Founded in 1992, the Clan Currie Society has played an active role in the observance of National Tartan Day in New York, New Jersey, and Washington, DC for the last three years. For further information about the Clan Currie Society and their ongoing program of cultural outreach events, visit their website at www.clancurrie.com.
Home • History
of the Clan • Clan Leadership •
The Currie Tartan • Clan
News webmaster@clancurrie.com
|
