Robert Burns Suppers
If it’s January, it must be time for the annual Robert Burns Suppers, held by fans around the world to honor the poetry, wit and songs of the Scottish bard — and (of course) toast him with Scottish whisky and indulge in haggis (the poet is known not only for Auld Lang Syne but for Ode to a Haggis).
Here are a few of those scheduled (and almost every one would welcome a wayfayer passing through):
The best place to enjoy a Burns supper is, of course, in Scotland.
You’ll find one at 7 p.m. January 22, 2015, at Prestonfield House, Priestfield Road, Edinburgh, Scotland (a benefit for Prostate Scotland). There’s a Burns Night Jacobean Banquet starting at 7 p.m. January 24, 2015, at Dalhousie Castle Hotel and Spa, Bonnyrigg, Edinburgh, Scotland.
To the west, the 2015 Burns Supper hosted by the Lord Provost of Glasgow will be January 23, 2015, in the Thistle Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland. Less formal is the event at 7 p.m. January 25, 2015, at Grosvenor Café, 24 Ashton Lane, Glasgow West End (although it also includes the Address to a Haggis).
Meanwhile, back on the North American side of the pond, the American Scottish Foundation stages its 20th Burns Supper January 16, 2015, at the University Club, 1 East 54th Street, New York, New York. The evening will begin with a reception and Balvenie Whisky Tasting. Guests will then be piped into dinner where a traditional Burns Night Supper will follow.
The 42nd Royal Highlanders of West Lafayette, Indiana, host their 32d annual Scottish supper in honor of Burns January 24, 2015, in The Trails, 325 Burnett’s Road, West Lafayette, Indiana. Cocktails are served beginning at 5:30 p.m., with dinner at 6:30 p.m. In addition to haggis, there’ll be music by the 42d Royal Highlanders and performances by The Whole Nine Yards Scottish Country Dancers. Tickets are $45 after January 15, 2015.
The Scottish Society of Greater Bloomington will be hosting a Robert Burns’ Supper at the American Legion Post, 1800 West 3rd Street, Bloomington, Indiana, at 6 p.m. January 31, 2015. Tickets are $30. Entertainment will include Highland Reign, the Southern Indiana Pipes and Drums, and ceilidh dancing by the Scottish Country Dancers of Greater Bloomington.
Chicago Scots will celebrate Robert Burns January 31, 2015, at the Union League Club of Chicago, Illinois.
The Caledonian Society of Arizona’s supper is 6 p.m. January 24, 2015, in the Phoenix Country Club, 2901 North Seventh Street, Phoenix, Arizona.
The Burns supper sponsored by the Kern County Scottish Society is January 25, 2015, at American Legion Bakersfield Post 26, 2020 H Street, Bakersfield, California.
The Scottish Society of Central California will hold its annual Robert Burns Supper at 5 p.m. January 25, 2015, in Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8900, 3585 North Blythe Avenue, Fresno, California.
The 38th annual Burns Supper sponsored by the Robert Burns Society of Annapolis is set for 6 p.m. January 24, 2015, in the Annapolis Elks Lodge No. 622, 2 Pythia Drive, Edgewater, Maryland.
A Burns supper will be held for the 111th year by the Scottish Society of Dallas at 6 p.m. January 24, 2015, in the Hyatt Regency North Dallas, 701 East Campbell Road, Richardson, Texas.
(Photo courtesy of the 42nd Royal Highlanders)
There are several Robert Burns suppers in Southern California, but for Los Angeles area residents in doubt of where to find a good one, the Tam O’Shanter restaurant on Los Feliz Drive in Atwater is a safe bet. The food selections off the event menu are both typical and tasty – and aside from a small dish of haggis, you’re paying a good price for everything else. Pipe and drum, parading the haggis, the Robert Burns toast, a reading of two or three poems by the Bard, one or two. bawdy songs by Scot chartreuse, and a group singing of Auld Lang Syne fairly expresses the add-ons. But nothing will ever beat my memory of a Burns Supped at the Crown and Anchor Pub in Thousand Oaks (Ca.) a few years back. Sure, it had all the other stuff – and more – but nothing will erase the memory of a small, spry (and enjoyably drunk) old Scot who stole the microphone and devilishly recited the most bawdy Burns poem he could find, all in a delightful, natural (and inebriated) accent. I hope the Crown and Anchor will bring this event back soon.