‘BURNS NIGHT’
Events around Ohio to honor Scotland’s ‘National Bard,’ Robert Burns
Each year on or around Jan. 25, many people of Scottish descent (or wannabes) celebrate “days of auld lang syne” and the birthday of the Scottish poet who wrote those words, Robert “Rabbie” Burns.
Burns, the son of a tenant farmer, was born in 1759. He lived only to age 37, but his work, often written in a Scots dialect of English, became so beloved that he is commonly regarded as Scotland’s “National Bard.”
Burns Night, as it’s known, is celebrated around the world, and the auld Buckeye State is no exception. Several sites across the state will be holding Burns events at the end of January.
Glenlaurel Scottish Inn
Glenlaurel Scottish Inn near Rockbridge in southeastern Ohio celebrates the heritage of Scotland year-round, but never more so than at it’s annual Robert Burns Dinner.
The inn (14940 Mount Olive Road, www.glenlaurel.com) will host this year’s event on Jan 25. The evening includes a six-course dinner with each course accompanied by music, stories or readings from Burns’ work.
The evening begins with a social hour in the inn’s Loch Ness Pub at 6 p.m. At 7 p.m. guests will congregate in the dining room where a costumed master of ceremonies will introduce the evening’s other entertainers and readers.
Then, as a bagpiper plays, a haggis — a traditional Scottish dish — is brought into the room and feted with a reading of Burn’s “Address to a Haggis.”
“Fair fa’ your honest sonsie face “Great chieftain o the puddin’-race!” (Eating a slice of the great offal-andmincemeat chieftain is encouraged but optional, as is the wearing of kilts.)
Tickets for the event cost $59 plus gratuities and can be ordered online or by calling 1-800-809-7378.
Rabbie Burns Supper
The oldest Scottish society in the United States, the Caledonian Society of Cincinnati, will host its annual Rabbie Burns Supper on Jan. 29, from 6 to 10 p.m. at the RSVP Event Center, 453 Wards Corner Road in Loveland.
The event includes Scottish entertainment such as pipes and drums, Highland dancing and Scottish country dancing.
Tickets cost $45, or $22 for children ages 4 to 11. Tickets include wine and beer and a buffet-style dinner. A cash bar will also be available.
The society recommends cocktail or business casual attire. Kilts are also appropriate, of course.
For more information or to order tickets, visit www.caledoniansociety.org.
Earnest Brew Works
In northwest Ohio, the Earnest Brew Works brewery and taproom in downtown Toledo (25 S. St. Clair St., www.earnestbrewworks.com) will host choral ensemble whateverandeveramen for a Burns Night on Jan. 24, from 6 to 9 p.m. The group will perform works including many Robert Burns poems that have been set to music.
Tickets for the event cost $15 and include a pint of craft beer. Tickets can be reserved at www.whateverchoir.org. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination is required of all guests.
Daughters of Scotland Columbus
Closer to home, the Daughters of Scotland Columbus (www.facebook. com/groups/159090480796036/) will host a Robert Burns celebration Jan. 29, at Worthington Hills Country Club, 920 Clubview Blvd. S.
Cocktails will begin at 3:30 p.m. followed by early entertainment at 4 p.m. Dinner will be served at 6 p.m., followed by an evening program.
Entertainment includes the Capital City Pipes and Drums, storyteller Melanie Pratt, the Mad Maudlin Celtic band plus Scottish country dancing for all.
Dinner will be a choice of grilled salmon, wine-braised short ribs or vegetarian ratatouille risotto, accompanied by traditional neeps and tatties, cock-aleekie soup and desserts prepared by the Daughters of Scotland.
And there will, of course, be haggis, served prior to dinner.
Tickets cost $46 and can be ordered through www.eventbrite.com.
Any of you lads or lassies planning to attend a Burns Night events should consider that “the best laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley” — especially during a pandemic — so be sure to check that plans for an event have not changed before setting out.
Steve Stephens is a freelance travel writer and photographer. Email him at sjstephensjr@gmail.com.