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Scottish diaspora gears up to celebrate New York Tartan Week

Lathallan School Pipe Band went to New York for Tartan Week and are pictured at the Statue of Liberty where they played
Lathallan School Pipe Band went to New York for Tartan Week and are pictured at the Statue of Liberty where they played

It started out in modest fashion with two pipe bands and a small throng of Scottish-Americans, who marched from the British Consulate to the United Nations building.

But now, 20 years after the US Senate decreed April 6 would be National Tartan Day, the New York festival has grown into a Mardi Gras-style extravaganza.

This week, there will be a touch of the wacky, the weird and the wonderful when the Big Apple is transformed into a cross between Brigadoon and Burns Night.

There will be clan gatherings, dancers, hundreds of pipers, thousands of marchers and tens of thousands of spectators cheering from the sidelines.

And, for the first time, the iconic Empire State Building will be illuminated in blue and white to represent the Scottish saltire.

Kyle Dawson, the flamboyant president of the New York Tartan Day Committee, isn’t somebody who thinks small. On the contrary, he and his colleagues have planned a grand series of events to rival Cecil B DeMille.

He said: “To celebrate our 20th year, we already had a fantastic week planned – with ceilidhs, family fun, live music, and our Highland Fling Singles night before our world-famous Tartan Day Parade closes the show,

“But now, this exciting news – that the Empire State Building will welcome all the visiting Scots by shining the Saltire for the first time ever – really does make this our biggest and best year yet.”

It’s estimated there are as many as six million Americans of Scottish descent and the event has sparked the imagination of many of these Stateside McDonalds, McDougalls, Duncans and Scotts.

In 2002, as part of the celebrations, the Parade was brought to Sixth Avenue for the first time and attracted a record number of pipe bands from all over the World.

They were led by the original James Bond, Sir Sean Connery, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

One of Scotland’s national treasures, William Wallace’s sword, left Scotland for the first time in 700 years and was flown to New York for the Tartan Week celebrations in 2005.

With the parade expanding every year, the Saint Andrew’s Society of the State of New York, 1756, New York Caledonian Club 1856, and The American-Scottish Foundation came together to form the National Tartan Day New York Committee.

Mr Dawson seems determined to surprise and astonish even the most hard-nosed New Yorker, judging by what he has planned this week.

He added: “Joining us from the Shetland Islands will be the Lerwick Up Helly Aa Jarl squad, wearing handmade and specially-designed suits.

“And joining us for the first time will be Sgoil Lionacleit Pipe Band, hailing from Benderloch on South Uist.

“Scotties and Westies are this year being joined by the Celtic Canines, three divisions of Scottish dogs from deerhounds to sheepdogs and cairn terriers.

“The days surrounding the parade are filled with events, from ceilidhs, talks and discussions on genealogy to pipes and drums in the [Central] Park, and beer and whisky tastings.

“We look forward to welcoming one and all.”

It’s anticipated that as many as 30,000 members of the public could watch the main parade, on its route from 44th Street to 55th Street up Sixth Avenue.

And singer-songwriter KT Tunstall will make history of her own when she becomes the female Grand Marshal to lead the parade.

Much of the proceedings are focused on fun and pageantry, but there is a serious side to Tartan Week, given how it offers an opportunity to highlight Scottish produce in the US marketplace.

As Aberdeenshire East MSP, Gillian Martin, said: “Tartan Week is a significant event for Scotland’s global brands and the reputation of Scotland as a business, cultural and tourism destination.

“Its importance in the internationalisation goal of Scotland’s economy cannot be overstated.

“It grows in size every year and that’s something we should all welcome”

Much of this expansion is down to the sheer ebullience and enthusiasm of the redoubtable Mr Dawson.

He told The Press and Journal: “The New York Tartan Day Parade has grown to become one of the most celebrated events in America’s cultural calendar.

“Our parade participants have grown from 30-50 pipers and drummers to 3,500 pipe bands, solo performers and Scottish dancers.

“It used to be that only a few bystanders came to see us each year, but now we see over 30,000 spectators line up along Sixth Avenue to cheer us on.

“I am proud to be part of such an outstanding festival and look forward to 20 more years of celebrating everything Scottish people have done to build America.”

In more frivolous fashion, two Scottish singletons are being flown to New York for a chance to find romance at an event which has been christened the Highland Fling.

But whether or not they discover true love, Mr Dawson’s passion for his job means they should definitely enjoy the party.