Quad Cities’ Scottish American Society board members Mary Bouljon, Bill Sterba, and Judy Hawthrorne invite guests to the 44th Robert Burns Celebration and Dinner -- May 7.
Saturday, May 7, 5:30 p.m.
Isle Casino Hotel, 1777 Isle Parkway, Bettendorf IA
After an unanticipated year-long hiatus, an eagerly anticipated evening of traditional Scottish pageantry and heritage returns to the Quad Cities in the Scottish American Heritage Center's 44th Robert Burns Celebration and Dinner, a May 7 event at Bettendorf's Isle Casino Hotel boasting live music, country dances, and a tribute to the 262nd birthday of Celtic legend Robert Burns.
Best known for writing the New Year's Eve standard "Auld Lang Syne," Burns was a Scottish poet and lyricist who was born in 1759 and passed in 1796. Widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and celebrated worldwide, he is among the most acclaimed of the poets who have written in the Scots language, although much of his writing is in a "light Scots dialect" of English, accessible to an audience beyond Scotland. Burns also wrote in standard English, and in these writings, his political or civil commentary is often at its bluntest. Burns is regarded as a pioneer of the Romantic movement, and after his death, he became a great source of inspiration to the founders of both liberalism and socialism, and a cultural icon in Scotland and among the Scottish diaspora around the world.
Over the course of his short life, Burns wrote more than 550 poems, songs, and letters in his native Scots dialect. Beyond "Auld Lang Syne," his other well-known works include To a Mouse, with its memorable line “the best-laid schemes of mice and men / Go oft awry"; the comic tale of Tam O'Shanter; and the romantic song “My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose.” Burns nights have been celebrated since 1801 in Scotland after nine of the poet’s friends gathered to honor him five years after his untimely death at age 37.
In addition to a full dinner with haggis starter, the 44th Robert Burns Celebration and Dinner honors Burns' life and work with the traditional piping in and recitation of Burns' “Address to the Haggis,” toasts to the immortal memory of Burns, and bagpipe performances by Black Hawk Pipes & Drums. After-dinner entertainment includes Scottish country dances taught by Kait Meeker, a Grand March, and music by Troid Gaelic, of Marion, Iowa – a father/son duo that plays traditional Celtic, Irish, and some old-time bluegrass music on guitar and fiddle. For those wanting a souvenir of the evening, vendors The Rampant Lion and Courses & Castles paintings are also scheduled to attend.
Doors to the 44th Robert Burns Celebration and Dinner on May 7 open at 5:30 p.m. for cocktails and pre-dinner entertainment, with dinner served at 7:15 p.m. Menu choices include flat iron steak, lemon-herb salmon, boursin chicken, and a vegetarian entree, and a child’s menu is available for ages 12 and under. For more information and tickets on the Isle Casino Hotel event, visit SASQC.com.
