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Clan Currie Society to Celebrate "The Life and Legacy of John Muir" on Ellis Island Annual Tartan Day Celebration to Focus on the Scots-Born "Father of the American National Parks" The Clan Currie Society announced today final plans for their annual National Tartan Day celebration at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. For 2005, Clan Currie has produced a new exhibit in honor of John Muir, the conservationist, author, and environmental activist largely renowned as the “father of America’s national parks”. In partnership with the National Park Service, Clan Currie, along with Scottish and American dignitaries, will lead the Opening Ceremonies for a new Tartan Day exhibit. The celebration is scheduled for Friday, April 1, 2005 at 11:00 AM. The exhibit, which is free to all visitors of the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, will run into May. Invited guests for the Opening Ceremonies include, New York Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, Patricia Ferguson, Scotland’s Minister of Tourism, Sport and Culture, The Rt. Hon. Leslie Hinds, Lord Provost of the City of Edinburgh, and Peter Lederer, CBE, Chairman of VisitScotland. "We're so grateful to Ellis Island for inviting us back for a fourth consecutive year," said Robert Currie, president of the Clan Currie Society. "This event provides an important opportunity to recognize the vast contributions of Scots and Scottish-Americans to the development of the United States.” Currie continued, “We are especially grateful to all our sponsors and partners, especially VisitScotland for their generous support in making this exhibit possible.” The exhibit is the first to be produced completely by the Clan Currie Society. Hilary Buchanan Boller, a historian with the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, served as principal researcher and author. The Clan Currie Society also formed an Advisory Panel including participation from the John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez, CA, the John Muir Birthplace Trust in Dunbar, Scotland, the Sierra Club in San Francisco, CA and the John Muir Trust in Edinburgh, Scotland. As part of the Opening Ceremonies, Clan Currie will again be announcing the name of the 2005 Tartan Day Award recipient. The award recognizes individuals in the Scottish-America community for their outstanding service in promoting Scottish heritage and culture. Clan Currie began its successful collaboration with the Ellis Island Immigration Museum in 2002 in the coordination and sponsorship of the first Tartan Day celebration. Clan Currie and the National Museums of Scotland joined forces to host the traveling exhibit, "Home and Away: Highland Departures and Returns."
The following year, Clan Currie returned to Ellis Island, bringing with them four of Scotland's top crafters for a hands-on demonstration of their unique talents. The 2003 event was captured in the form of a documentary film entitled, "The Crafter's Song." Narrated by Academy Award-winning actor, Cliff Robertson, “The Crafter’s Song” is the first documentary produced in America about National Tartan Day. The award-winning film premiered on Ellis Island as part of the 2004 Tartan Day celebration. That year, Clan Currie hosted “Loyalty & Exile: The Jacobites and America,” which examined Scots during the Jacobite era in 18th century Scotland. Clan Currie plans to screen “The Crafter’s Song” as part of the April 1 ceremonies. About John Muir John Muir was a powerful voice for the wilderness, and left an indelible mark on the history of this nation, a legacy that continues to this day. John Muir led a life dedicated to exploring, admiring, and preserving the American natural landscape. Wanderer, poet, inventor, explorer, accomplished author and political activist, Muir is best known for his pioneering work in the field of conservation, work that culminated in the establishment of the world’s first national park system. Born in Dunbar, Scotland in 1838, Muir immigrated to the United States at the age of eleven and spent his adolescent years hard at work on his family’s Wisconsin farm. After leaving home at the age of twenty-two to seek his fortune as an inventor, Muir went on to embark on a life of exploration, adventure, and activism. A contemporary of Emerson and Thoreau, John Muir spent his adult years forging and strengthening an emerging public interest in the preservation of the American wilderness. He authored fourteen books and literally hundreds of articles, each penned with an eloquent reverence for the sublime beauty of the American landscape and a sincere desire to share that love with future generations.
“The Life and Legacy of John Muir” traces his remarkable life journey from his days exploring the moors, mountains, and shoreline surrounding his childhood home in Scotland, to his lasting legacy as America’s first passionate conservationist and the father of the American national parks. His legacy lives on in geographic names from Alaska to Florida, in Yosemite National Park, which he was instrumental in establishing in 1890, and in the Sierra Club, which he founded in 1892 and served as its first president. In 1976, the California Historical Society dubbed Muir the greatest Californian in the history of the state, and his birthday has since become a state-recognized holiday. Most recently, the image of John Muir was chosen to appear on the newly-minted California commemorative quarter which was unveiled in January 2005. Clan Currie is also producing a documentary film on Muir’s remarkable life for screening later this year. About National Tartan Day National Tartan Day is an American celebration that 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 April 6 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. About The Clan Currie Society The Clan Currie Society, an American-based, international, non-profit cultural and educational organization, is active in preserving and promoting highland heritage at Scottish Games, ethnic festivals, as well as community groups and classrooms. The Society has over 2,000 members worldwide that gather via the Society’s website (www.clancurrie.com). The organization started as a family name society in Glasgow, Scotland in 1959 to further the knowledge and appreciation of the MacMhuirich bardic dynasty. The MacMhuirichs (the Gaelic name for Currie) served for over 700 years as professional poets to the Lords of the Isles and later to the MacDonalds of Clanranald. The Red Book of Clanranald, one of Gaelic Scotland’s literary treasures, was penned by successive generations of the MacMhuirich family. Today, the organization is a leading American-based foundation that focuses on celebrating the Scots-Gaelic origins of the Currie name as well as producing outstanding programs and events to honor Scotland’s rich culture and ancestry. The museum can be reached via ferry boats departing from Liberty State Park in Jersey City and Battery Park in Manhattan. For schedule and ticket information, contact the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island Ferry at 201-435-9499 (NJ) or 212-269-5755 (NY) or visit their website at www.statueoflibertyferry.com.
The Ellis Island celebration is but one of entire calendar of special events planned for New York City. The Big Apple will become the Tartan Apple from April 1 – 9 with a whole host of special events and exhibitions, including an entire Scottish Village on display at New York’s Grand Central Station produced by VisitScotland. For a complete overview of Tartan Week in New York, click here. For additional information about Clan Currie and the Ellis Island Tartan Day observance and John Muir exhibit, contact the Clan Currie Society at (908) 273-3509, via e-mail at clancurrie@mail.com or by visiting their Web site at www.clancurrie.com. For additional information on VisitScotland, visit: www.visitscotland.com.
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