The birthday of Scotlands' people's poet Robbie Burns will be celebrated at the Ramada Hotel Saturday night and you don't have to be Scottish to attend. You just have to want to enjoy some Scottish tradition, said Bonnie Leach, one of the organizers of the event and artistic director at Excalibur Theatre Arts Company.
Dinner starts at 6 p.m. during this family-friendly event which will feature the traditional Scottish food, haggis.
Although, eating the haggis is not a requirement, Leach assures us.
The Selkirk grace will be said and the haggis will be piped in, as tradition goes, but Findlay Sinclair, who will act as master of ceremonies for the event, said the pomp and circumstance of the event will be brief in order to make Robbie Burns Night a kid-friendly event.
"The more children who attend the event, the better," he added. "It's going to be a lot of fun."
There will be entertainment provided by the Prince George Pipe Band and the Excalibur Highland dancers.
"The Citizen is a major sponsor of this event and we want to support the local arts community with proceeds of the silent auction going to the Highland dancers at Excalibur," said Hugh Nicholson, publisher of The Citizen. "There's going to be great food, dancing and a full pipe band and if this dinner goes well the organizers of this event will consider bringing back the Highland Games to Prince George."
People are encouraged to dress in their full Scottish regalia or anything tartan, said Leach.
"Something we haven't had for a long time is the whole pipe band with all the drummers, which is going to be really nice," said Leach. "We have a lot of performances with pipe band and dancers together." There is a dance to follow.
Robbie Burns, who was born Jan. 25, 1759, is regarded as a pioneer of the Romantic movement and after his death he became a great inspiration to the founders of both liberalism and socialism. A cultural icon in Scotland, celebration of his life and work became almost a national charismatic cult during the 19th and 20th centuries. As well as making original compositions, Burns also collected folk songs from across Scotland, often revising or adapting them. His poem and song Auld Lang Syne is often sung at Hogmanay, Scottish New Year's eve.
Tickets are $35 and available at the Ramada and The Citizen.
