The 25th Tartan Day Parade takes place on Saturday 15 April down Sixth Avenue.
In the days before, there are many events taking place, including we understand a showcase from Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society at the official UK Government residence on Thursday where Shona McCarthy, CEO of Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society spoke about their activities and how she sees the Fringe moving forward.
Many politicians are in town, Scottish and UK members of parliament, all enjoying the gorgeous weather and the chance to make new contacts with US businesses and academia.
And it is time for the pipes to skirl, and the dancers from the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo to twirl even in the 80 degree F heat. At Bryant Park on Friday the Highland Divas introduced the entertainment with no less than three national anthems – the Star Spangled Banner, God Save the King and Flower of Scotland. New Yorker Robbie Munro who read the Declaration of Arbroath from 1320 has strong Scottish roots and a 102-year-old grandmother who still lives in East Lothian. His father, Dougal Munro, went to the States aged 25, founded the textile firm, Holland & Sherry, which his son has now taken over.
John Lamont MP Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Scotland said he will be wearing his Lamont tartan trews on Saturday. He said: “It is amazing this week, Tartan Week in New York. It is the first time I have been. I have been able to have a number of meetings with a number of businesses and organisations with strong ties to Scotland.”
We asked about the UK Government’s benevolence to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in the Spring Budget, earmarking £8.6 million. Mr Lamont said this money was being awarded to the Fringe Society to “help them develop new premises” and that more details will be emerging in due course.” Mr Lamont confirmed to The Edinburgh Reporter that this money was “what the Society had applied for – money to help them develop new headquarters to accommodate all their staff”, and that the funding was a “recognition of the importance of the Fringe not just to Edinburgh and Scotland but also to the rest of the UK”.
Douglas Ross MP and MSP and leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Pete Wishart MP, Wendy Chamberlain MP are some of the members of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee at Westminster. The committee has been conducting an enquiry into the way that Scotland is promoted internationally, and that is the reason for their visit to the US.
Mr Ross said: “I am here in my position as an MP and a member of the Select Committee. We are doing an inquiry about Scotland’s place in the world, looking at trade, looking at how Scotland is viewed elsewhere. It is a great opportunity for the committee to come out here and be part of Tartan Week.
“It is great to see so many people here from Scotland.”
Pete Wishart MP said: “We are out here making sure that Scotland is properly represented in light of our enquiry. There is no better place to come than New York during Tartan Week to see what is in effect the biggest congregation of Scots, and Scots-Americans outside of Scotland itself.”
Angus Robertson MSP and Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture addressed the gathered audience saying what a pleasure it was for him to be back at Bryant Park, as he had visited several times before. He said: “I am extremely proud that The Scottish Government has supported Tartan Day since its inception 25 years ago. People in Scotland sometimes think that Tartan Day is a celebration of Scotland. It’s not. It is a celebration of the contribution of Scots to the United States of America. On behalf of the government of Scotland I would like to say how proud we are of all of you, about what you have achieved but also that you haven’t forgotten where you or your ancestors came from.”
Mr Robertson mentioned the Scottish Connections Framework which formalises and enhances the links between Scotland and the diaspora. He encouraged everyone to read the strategy on the Scottish Government website where a portal will be created.
VisitScotland, Scottish Development International, Creative Scotland, the National Theatre for Scotland, the V&A in Dundee are all represented at Tartan Day.
Iain Murray MP for Edinburgh South and the Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland is also in New York. He said: “It is the 25th anniversary of Tartan Week which started under the previous Labour administration in Scotland. It is a great celebration of both the diaspora here and their great contributions across the world.
“The serious point is creating those links, the trade links, the cultural links, the educational links. That is all really important in this week.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
