Sign in | Register | Email newsletters

Scotland The Great - Homecoming Highlights

Source: The List (Issue 621)
Date: 22 January 2009
Written by: John Johnston

Scotland is calling everyone back for a homecoming and, without any sort of Scottish version of the Bat signal in sight, the country is hosting events throughout the year to get everyone celebrating their roots to coincide with Robert Burns’ 250th anniversary. The Changing Nation (Jan-Nov) gallery at the National Museum will show how far the country has come in the last 100 years before Scottish Music Abroad (6 Mar-23 May) reveals the influence of Scottish music throughout the Commonwealth, something This Is Who We Are (Jan-Nov) hopes to do with photos, showing that being Scottish isn’t merely about location. After that you might need a brief rest, a perfect time for the Whisky month to kick off (May), with the industry throwing its doors open to celebrate the national tipple. After a month on the whisky, Scotland’s National Youth Performing Arts company’s re-telling of Tam O’Shanter (Sep) might lead you to mend your ways, although that depends on your views on the famous poem. With the sun hopefully shining down, The Gathering (25-26 Jul) will see Holyrood Park host Highland Games before a clan members parade up the Royal Mile, something which organisers say Edinburgh won’t have seen since Sir Walter Scott’s Royal Pageant in 1822, which was top notch, if I remember. To cap it all there’s the Grand Final Weekend (28-30 Nov), a major celebration of all Scottish music, from folk artists to cutting edge contemporary bands, to bring the year to a close.

For more information check out www.homecomingscotland2009.com

More: Books, Days out, Film, Music, Theatre, Visual art, Dance, Changing Nation, Grand Final Weekend, Homecoming, Scotland The Great, Scottish Music Abroad, Tam O’Shanter, The Gathering, This Is Who We Are