Celebrate all things Scottish, including culture, food and drink, during 13th Annual Scotland Week in NYC. It’s the gathering of the clan, with FREE performances, parades, art exhibits and more, through the big annual Tartan Day Parade on Fifth Avenue on Saturday, April 9th.
This year’s events a special museum event about Scots who helped build New York City, at the former home of Andrew Carnegie, now the Cooper-Hewitt/Smithsonian Design Museum.
Celebrate your inner Scot at these events:
April 6th to 10th
FREE lunchtime concerts in Bryant Park – Celebrate Scotland on the Fountain Terrace as we bring you a variety of pipe bands, singers, and musicians to perform for you, from the sound of the bagpipes to Celtic rock, drums, and more.
Daily Performance Schedule:
April 6th, 7th, 8th, 10th – 12:30pm
April 8th – Pipes & Drums at Sunset – 5:30pm
April 9th – Pre Parade Pipes & Drums – 11:15am – 1:00pm
Wednesday, April 6th, 12:30pm – 1.30pm
Tartan Day Observance – In Honor of National Tartan Day
Edinburgh Academy Pipes and Drums, Highland Divas, Readings from Declaration of Arbroath and Presidential Proclamation
Thursday, April 7th, 12:30pm – 1.30pm
Hannah Read & Friends, Scottish Octopus
Friday, April 8th, 12:30pm – 1.30pm
Craig Weir, Laura McGhee, Little Fire, East Hall High School Valhalla Singers
Friday, April 8th, 5:30pm
The Pipes & Drums at Sunset and Edinburgh Academy Pipes and Drums
Saturday, April 9th, 11:15am – 1:00pm
11:15am – The Pipes & Drums of the Atlantic Watch
11:35am – Accrington Pipe Band
12:00pm – Bonnie Brae Knights
12:20pm – Shamrock & Thistle Pipers
12:45pm – TBA
Sunday, April 10th, 12:30pm – 1.30pm
Strathallan School Pipe Band
Tuesday, April 5th – 6pm – 8pm
The Scots Who Built New York – Carnegie Legacy at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum – This guided tour and reception explores Andrew Carnegie’s enormous contribution to New York’s architecture and heritage. Speakers include Caroline Baumann, Director, Cooper Hewitt; John Kinnear, Historian, Architect and President, American Friends of the Georgian Group; and Malcolm Roughead, OBE, Chief Executive of Visit Scotland, who will speak about “Scotland Today” as Scotland celebrates 2016 as “The Year of Architecture and Design”. A reception follows in the Great Hall. Tickets are $40.
Tartan Day on Ellis Island (FREE) – Since its debut in 2002, Tartan Day on Ellis Island has become one of the most important and popular Scottish heritage events in the USA. This year it features a new exhibition on Captain William Kidd, a Scottish sailor who was tried and executed for piracy after returning from a voyage to the Indian Ocean. Plus, as always, there are music and dance performances, including the Rampant Lion Pipe Band, kilt maker Bonnie Greene, John the Kilted Juggler and maybe a few pirates, too. Tartan Day on Ellis Island is sponsored by the Clan Currie Society.
It’s all happening at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. The first ferry leaves lower Manhattan at 8am and the last one leaves Ellis Island at 6:45pm. Additional information on Tartan Day on Ellis Island on this dedicated website.
Saturday, April 9th
Kirkin O’ the Tartan and Pre-Parade Brunch – This is a traditional, non-denominational church service sponsored by the Saint Andrew’s Society of the State of New York. The service is followed by a pre-parade traditional Scottish brunch, 10am to noon. Tickets are $25-$35; children under 10 are half-price and children under 5 are free. Reservations required. The Brick Presbyterian Church is at 62 East Ninety-Second Street
2016 Tartan Day Parade – The 18th annual Tartan Day Parade is a highlight of the Scotland Week festivities, bringing together pipers and drummers from all over the world in a celebration of the contribution made to the USA by the Scots. This year’s Grand Marshal is actor Sam Heughan, best known for his role as the 18th Century Scottish Highlander Jamie Fraser in the STARZ hit series “Outlander.” The series is adapted from Diana Gabaldon’s international best-selling books.
Parade begins on 6th Avenue at West 45th Street and proceeds up 6th Avenue to 55th Street beginning at 2pm. Those wishing to march must pre-register with the American Scottish Foundation
- Full details of the Scotland Week program can be found at scotland.org/scotlandweek
What do you think about this? We welcome your comments.