Robbie Burns day will be celebrated by all three legions in the Parksville Qualicum Beach region.
Robbie Burns was a Scottish poet from the 1700s, best known for writing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ and ‘Address to a Haggis.’
The annual suppers are celebrations of his life and works. Generally, celebrations coincide with his birthday, on Jan. 25.
The Qualicum Beach Legion (Branch 76) will be hosting their annual dinner on Jan. 25. The celebrations start at 5:30 p.m. with a gathering of the clans.
Once all are seated at 6 p.m. Scottish dancers start, and at 6:30 p.m. the haggis is piped in and dinner starts, followed with a performance by the Qualicum Beach Pipe Band. Afterwards, there will be dancing to music by Bruce Feltham & Friends.
“We pull out all the stops for everything Scottish! This is a dressy affair when ladies and gentlemen sport their tartans. If you don’t have tartan, wear your best bib and tucker and think about wearing that “wee tartan tam” pin you received when you donated to the Qualicum Beach Pipe Band,” reads the event description.
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“By the way, if you don’t like haggis, don’t worry – haggis is a side dish to go along with the roast beef dinner.”
Tickets are $35 a piece and are available to members only.
The Bowser Legion (Branch 211) will be hosting their Robbie Burns Day celebration on Friday, Jan. 24. Tickets are available at the legion bar, and are going for $20 each. They’ll be serving up a roast beef dinner or a traditional haggis, accompanied by a pipe band.
The Mt. Arrowsmith Legion (Branch 49) in Parksville is hosting their celebrations a week earlier. The dinner will be hosted on Sunday, Jan. 19 and will take place at 1:30 p.m., with the bar opening at 12 p.m. A member of the Legion Pipe Band will ‘pipe in’ the haggis. Entertainment will be provided by the Mt. Arrowsmith Pipe Band and the Highland Dancers, starting at 12:30 p.m.
Tickets for the roast beef with haggis dinner are $28 apiece and are available at the legion bar.
– NEWS Staff