If your heart’s in the Highlands, you may want to mark Jan. 28 in your calendar for the Cochrane Pipe Band’s 18th annual Robbie Burns Dinner.
Celebrations of the life and times of famed Scottish poet Robert Burns are held around the world every year. The tradition began in 1801 when a small group of Burns’ friends gathered to commemorate the five-year anniversary of their artistic friend’s death.
The cheerful evening was a success, and the idea caught on globally. Eventually the yearly party was moved to Burns’ birthday of Jan. 25 (or as close to it as possible) and grew to include such protocol as the recitation of the Selkirk Grace – a prayer attributed to Burns – a generous meal of haggis (piped in by a bagpipe player) – and presentations of the writer’s poetry.
Cochrane’s Robbie Burns Dinner promises to be a fun and festive time, with merry music by entertainer Rob Skeet and a performance by the Cochrane Pipe Band. Dinner will include haggis (of course), as well as roast beef.
Tickets for the Cochrane RancheHouse event are $60 each or $450 for tables of 8 and can be purchased by calling (403) 932-2228.
