March 4, 2006

Clan Currie Society Announces Plans for NY Tartan Week Festivities

Annual Ellis Island Observance and Tartan Fashion Extravaganza To Highlight Week-Long Schedule of Events

Clan Currie will observe Tartan Day on Ellis Island on Saturday, 1, 2006.

Exhibits, fashion shows, gallery openings, concerts and a parade – it must be Tartan Week in New York City. In addition to Clan Currie’s annual observance of Tartan Day at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum and the spectacular Dressed to Kilt fashion show, Tartan Week in New York will again offer something for everyone.

The following is a listing of the key events for which the Clan Currie Society will be coordinating and/or participating in during New York Tartan Week 2006:

April 1, 2006 – National Tartan Day on Ellis Island – New York
The Clan Currie Society returns to Ellis Island for their fifth annual observance of National Tartan Day. The Ellis Island ceremonies will include performances by Scottish performers, including pipers and highland dancers, a screening of Clan Currie’s award-winning documentary film, “The Crafter’s Song,” and the announcement of the 2006 Tartan Day Award winner.

The program will begin at 11:00 AM. For complete details, visit Tartan Day on Ellis Island to Feature Top Performers. For complete ferry schedules to Ellis Island, visit: www.circlelinedowntown.com/statueFerry.html.

April 3, 2006 – Dressed to Kilt – Synod Hall – Cathedral of St. John the Divine
A star-studded evening of fashion and fun hosted by Sir Sean and Lady Connery. While focusing on fashion, Dressed to Kilt does much more; it promotes 'all things Scottish' and is a showcase for the principle that 'Made in Scotland' is a benchmark of the very best in the world. Proceeds from the evening benefit Friends of Scotland, a national non-profit corporation dedicated to advancing contemporary Scottish interests and meeting contemporary Scottish needs in the United States and New Scotland House. For further information, visit: www.dressedtokilt.com.

The Clan Currie Society is a proud sponsor of the fabulous Dressed to Kilt fashion show on April 3, 2006. Photo by Warren Westura.

April 8, 2006 – Tartan Day Parade – Sixth Avenue, New York
The New York City Tartan Day Parade will take place at 2:00 PM. The parade steps-off at West 45th Street, marching north on the Avenue of the Americas to 58th Street. Over 1000 marchers including pipe bands and Scots organizations will are scheduled to march in the 7th annual parade.

The Honorary Grand Marshall for the 2006 parade will be Brigadier Melville Jameson CBE. Brigadier Jameson, who hails from Perthshire, was commissioned into The Royal Scots Greys from the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. He served with his regiment in Northern Ireland, Germany, Cyprus, the Middle East and Edinburgh, where in 1971 his Regiment amalgamated with 3rd Carbiniers to form The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.

Brigadier Melville Jameson CBE is the Honorary Grand Marshall for the Tartan Day parade on April 8, 2006.

He was appointed to command The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards from 1986 to 1988 and was subsequently posted as Directing Staff to the Joint Service Defence College and then appointed Colonel on the Military Secretary's staff. For three years he was Commander 51 Highland Brigade in Perth.

After leaving the Army in December 1996, the Brigadier was appointed Producer of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo and became its Chief Executive and Producer in January 1998. The Brigadier is Honorary Colonel of the Aberdeen Universities Officers Training Corps. He is a member of the Royal Company of Archers, The Queen's Body Guard for Scotland.

For further information, visit: www.tartanweek.com.

More NY Tartan Week Events
On January 25, 2006, representatives from the Scottish Executive’s Office in Edinburgh gathered at New York’s Trump Tower to celebrate Burns Night and provide a preliminary overview of Tartan Week in New York.

Donald Trump welcomed the dinner guests, proudly wearing his MacLeod tartan tie in honor of his late mother, a native Scot from Stornaway. Entertainment for the evening was provided by Clan Currie favorites Caledon – Scotland’s three tenors – and Society member and champion harpist Jennifer Port.

The following is a sampling of the upcoming Tartan Week events.
To view the complete list of events, visit www.tartanweekNY.com.

	Donald Trump welcomes guests to a Burns Night celebration at New York’s Trump Tower to kick-off Tartan Week 2006.

April 1 – 8, 2006 - Scottish Village - Vanderbilt Hall, Grand Central Station
Produced by VisitScotland, this free public event is a celebration of everything Scottish. Visitors will be welcomed into the Scottish Village where they can experience all the wonderful aspects of modern and traditional Scottish life. It will feature eight different “zones” – tourism, golf, food and drink, heritage, our great places (local authorities), business and technology (Scottish Development International), learning (the universities and the Scottish Executive) and the place to live (the Scottish Executive’s ‘new talent’ initiative) A host of live events will be taking place, including music, fashion shows, culinary exhibitions, dance and genealogy talks.

April 2, 2006 – Scotland Run – Central Park
The New York Road Runners celebrate Tartan Day with a Scotland Run in New York’s Central Park. The 10K (6.2 mile) run begins at 9:30 AM. Participants will enjoy pipes and drums. For further information, visit: http://www.nyrr.org.

Runrig, one of Scotland’s leading Celtic bands makes their New York debut on April 4, 2006.

April 4, 2006 – Runrig – Nokia Theater
The New York debut of one of Scotland’s leading bands. To describe Runrig as merely a band, would not adequately describe their influence or importance over the past 30 years. They are icons of Scottish National Life and a Cultural Phenomenon. Founded 30 years ago their music grew out of Gaelic language tradition in the Scottish Highlands, to integrate into a wider rock mainstream where they have found their unique niche. Their sound is big and their songs draw on the spiritual, political, and historical themes that surround them.

The band has produced 13 studio albums, 4 live albums and various Best Of compilations. Although these recordings have achieved great success, it is in the live situation where Runrig are at their most potent, and where they are widely acclaimed as being one of the best live acts around. Joining Runrig will be the Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Pipe Band and noted composer/performer Blair Douglas from the Isle of Skye.

For further information, visit: www.runrig.co.uk.

April 5-8, 2006 – The Scottish Youth Theater – Rose Nagelberg Theatre
The Scottish Youth Theatre presents ‘Geordie’, a heart-warming and distinctly Scottish musical production based on the novel by the late David Walker. This production is adapted for the stage by David Cosgrove and Stuart Thomas, and directed by Mary McCluskey. Performances will be held on April 5th – 8th, with a special preview night on April 5th and the Official World Premiere on April 6th.

For further information, visit: www.scottishyouththeatre.org.

Scocha - the traditional quartet from Scotland will perform a free concert at the British Memorial Garden on Tartan Day. Photo by Derek Lunn Photography.

April 6, 2006 - Scotland within the British Memorial Garden
The British Memorial Garden Trust will present a free concert of traditional and modern Scottish music at the Old Slip Park, adjacent to the New York City Police Museum on Water Street in lower Manhattan.

The free concert will feature the music of the Strathclyde Fire & Rescue Pipe Band and the Inverclyde Juvenile Pipe Band from Glasgow, as well as the sounds of Scocha, a quartet from the Border counties that plays traditional Scottish music with a rock' n' roll flavor. The concert starts at 11:30 a.m. and will continue for an hour. For further information, visit: www.britishmemorialgarden.org.

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.

For additional information about Clan Currie and the Ellis Island Tartan Day observance, 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.

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