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Marching in the Haggis Burns Night 2024 Yellowknife, NT, Canada

Burns Night 2024 at the Elks - Marching In the Haggis

Ticket Sales are Now Open.  You can purchase tickets online at 

https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/2025-robert-burns-dinner-and-dance .  

All Tickets for the 2025 Burns Supper Have Been Sold.  Contact Us to get on the Waiting List.

The 2025 Northwest Territorial Pipe Band Burns Night Supper will be taking place:

  • Saturday, 25 January 2025
  • at the Elks (2nd Floor)
  • Doors open at 1800 (6 PM)
  • Show and Dinner Start at 1900 (7 PM)
  • Tickets $100 per person

This event is a modest fundraiser for the Northwest Territorial Pipe Band.  But for many, it is the Yellowknife social event of the year and a chance to express one's Caledonian core and Albion ancestry.  

While the dinner and show are modelled on the traditional Burns Night Supper, there will be some variations unique to Yellowknife.  If you have never been to a Burns Night event, one can get a flavour of it from the description on our website:  https://nwtpipeband.org/index.php/about-the-band/heritage-notes/38-burns-night .  The event is in commemoration of Scotland's poet laureate, Robert Burns (1759-1796), a leading figure in the Romantic movement (part of the Counter-Enlightenment).

Tickets will be going on general sale shortly.  If you know someone in the Pipe Band, let them know and they might be able to get you tickets early.  This event is usually sold out quickly. 

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Burns Night is a celebration of the life and poetry of Robert Burns, the poet laureate of Scotland.  He wrote in the Scots language and in a light Scots dialect of English in the late 18th century.  He was a pioneer of the Romantic movement and inspired both liberalism and socialism.  Not only did he write but he also collected Scottish folk songs and in so doing preserved Scottish culture.  Robert Burns started out as a labourer but through hard work and education rose to the middle class as a poet, intellectual, satirist and exciseman (government official).  He had several wives and 12 children.  His influence on the Romantic movement and 19th century intellectualism was profound, including on Sir Walter Scott. Robert Burns lived from 1759 to 1796 - only for 37 years.  But Burns Night is more than just Robert Burns, it is a celebration of the Scottish nation and the Scottish diaspora.  

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The new Tune Book is available at:

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A kilt is a garment similar to a skirt worn by men.  It was originally a wrap-around full-length garment (belted plaid) that could be draped over the shoulder and head - something like the garment Mel Gibson wore in the field in the movie Braveheart, where he played the role of Sir William Wallace fighting against Edward I (Edward Longshanks) and his army.  This was the "great kilt".  A walking kilt or small kilt was invented in the 1720s which was less unwieldy as the great kilt.  The small kilt was quickly adopted in Scotland, although here is evidence that this kilt was already in used before the 1720s.  A kilt usually has a tartan, although Irish pipe bands often wear a kilt in a solid colour - typically saffron or green.  The amount of material in a kilt (wool) can range from heavy (18-22 ounces) down to light (10-11 ounces).  A full kilt has 8 yards of fabric, although for those who are not girth-impaired, it can range up to 9 yards. 

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During the Burns Supper in January 2019, some might have noticed on the stage in the background a number of flags.  These were the Canadian Flag, the Lion Rampant, the Royal Union Flag (also known as the Union Jack when flown at sea), the Saltire (Cross of St. Andrew) and the Royal Scots Navy Red Ensign.

The Saltire is the national flag of Scotland.  Scotland has a very regimented and regulated system of honours, including flags.  The Saltire is the correct flag for individuals and corporate bodies to fly.  It is flown from Scottish Government buildings.  Its origins can be traced to about the 15th Century.  

Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg

Of course we all know of the current national flag of Canada since 1965. 

A very distinctive flag is the Lion Rampant of Scotland, also known as the Royal Standard of Scotland.  This flag is used only by a few Great Officers of State who represent the Sovereign in Scotland.  It is commonly flown on royal residences in Scotland when the Sovereign is not present.  It is, for all intents and purposes. the flag of the Sovereign.  Interestingly, that flag is present in the Arms of Canada.  For those of a Republican bent, this flag is considered unacceptable as it is the flag of the Sovereign (albeit the Scottish Sovereign).  Anti-monarchists would prefer just the Saltire. 

 

  1. Bonfire Night (Guy Fawkes)
  2. Haggis
  3. Bannock