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Blandford Pipe Band Stars and NY Celtic Dancers Join the Party at
Silent Auction Prizes Best Ever Clan Currie’s upcoming Sixth Annual Burns Night celebration just got a lot bigger and better. In addition to the already impressive roster of performers, the Society today announced that members of the Kevin Ray Blandford Memorial Pipe Band and the NY Celtic Dancers will also perform. These wonderful and talented performers will join with Metropolitan Opera baritone Mark Delavan and renowned trio, Local Hero to celebrate Robert Burns’ birthday with music and dance. The Society is also providing a first peak at the incredible array of Silent Auction items which guests will be bidding on. From round-trip airline tickets to Scotland via Icelandair to a round of golf at the beautiful Trump National Golf Course in Bedminster, NJ, the auction offers something for everyone. All proceeds benefit the Society’s Scholarship Program. Click here to get a sneak preview at some of the many auction items available. The festivities kick-off at 7PM on Saturday evening, January 27, 2007 at the Grand Summit Hotel in Summit, NJ. The cocktail hour will be followed by dinner, dancing and entertainment at 8:00 PM. Pipers and Drummers - Direct from the “Pipes of Christmas” Clan Currie is delighted to welcome back Pipe Major Matt Nonnemacher and drummer Eli Fugate direct from their recent performances of the “Pipes of Christmas.” Members of the Kevin Ray Blandford Memorial Pipe Band of Redlands, CA, Pipe Major Nonnemacher has led the band since 2004. Drummer Eli Fugate is a two-time champion drummer at the World Pipe Band Championship held annually in Glasgow, Scotland. “Pipes” audience members will vividly remember the stirring pipe and drum duet performed by Nonnemacher and Fugate from last December’s “Pipes” concerts in New York and New Jersey.
The New York Celtic Dancers The New York Celtic Dancers are a performance-based Scottish dance troupe based in New York City. Formerly the Mary Morrisson Dancers, the NYCD has been performing in the tri-state region for over ten years. The NYCD has performed at such New York landmarks as Carnegie Hall, Ellis Island, Central Park and for the medieval festival at The Cloisters (a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art). The NYCD have performed with many local pipe bands, including the Clan Gordon Highlanders, the New York Pipes and Drums and the St. Ann’s of Hampton Pipe Band. Director Allison Fippinger has been dancing since the age 4. From a family of Scottish heritage (Hamilton), Allison began her career with Scottish country dancing at a young age. She has since been trained in Scottish step and highland dance, Cape Breton step dance and Irish step dance, as well as studying a variety of traditional and ethnic dance forms outside of the Celtic realm. The New York Celtic Dancers perform a combination of traditional and modern works. Performances include a mix of traditional highland pieces (Seann Triubhas, The Fling, Gillie Callum) as well as several ladies step dances and National dances (The Lilt, The Village Maid, Miss Forbes). Contemporary works choreographed by Fippinger round out their repertoire and allow the use of modern and innovative music, while still incorporating the traditional steps and style in the dance. Examples of contemporary works include Bonnie Greene Waters, a contemporary hornpipe in the traditional style. Burns Night – A Time Honored Tradition Celebrated annually on, or about, the Bard's birthday, Burns Suppers traditionally adhere to a time-honored format, which includes the eating of a traditional Scottish meal, the drinking of Scotch whisky, and the recitation of works by, about, and in the spirit of the Bard. The history of the Burns Supper goes back to the poet’s birthplace of Alloway, Scotland where, five years after his death in 1796, nine of his friends gathered in a cottage to pay tribute to his memory. They continued to meet annually at various times of the year until Burn’s official biographer had established the correct date of his birth. It was not long before the practice of meeting on this date was being observed throughout Scotland. The basic format for the evening has remained unchanged since that time and begins when the host invites the company to receive the haggis, which is piped into the ballroom with great fanfare and then presented to the audience via the reading of Burns’ classic ode to Scotland’s native dish. The haggis will again be provided by one of New Jersey’s finest purveyors of Scots delicacies, Stewart’s of Kearny. In addition to the haggis, which is accompanied by neeps and tatties (mashed turnips and potatoes), the evening’s menu, or Bill O’ Fare as it is better known, includes Cock-A-Leekie Soup, an entrée choice of Roast Beef or Salmon, and Scotch Trifle. Dinner guests will also enjoy Scotch Trifle for dessert.
During the meal, guests will have the opportunity to sample Scotch whiskies provided by the Isle of Arran Distillery. Two versions of the popular (and appropriately named) Robert Burns Scotch Whisky will be served. Both a blended and a single malt version of the “water of life” will be sampled. The Arran Distillery, which is situated in historic MacMhuirich or Currie territory on the Isle of Arran, was indeed founded by one of the great men of the whisky trade and of Clan Currie, Harold Currie, who held a long and distinguished career with Chivas Regal prior to his realizing a lifelong dream of starting his own distillery. The cost for the Burns Supper is $100 per person, which includes a five-course meal, whisky tasting, and Scottish entertainment. A cash bar is available for beer or wine. Complimentary tastings of Dewar’s 12 scotch whisky will be served during the cocktail hour. The Grand Summit Hotel is also offering a block of rooms at a special discount rate for dinner guests, for further information contact The Grand Summit Hotel at 908-273-3000. Reservation forms can be downloaded by clicking here. Dinner reservations may also be made by mailing a check made payable to The Clan Currie Society, specifying the entrée selection of salmon or roast beef, along with a name, address, and phone number, to: The Clan Currie Society, P.O. Box 541, Summit, NJ 07902-0541. For further information, contact the Society at 908-273-3509 or visit their website at www.clancurrie.com.
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