Photo ops: Robbie Burns Celebrations
Fiona Burrows, PAMR, 778.782.3928, c: 604.812.9949
Leith Davis, director, Scottish studies, 011.44.131.225.1251 (in Scotland, returns Jan. 24); leith@sfu.ca
In honour of Robbie Burns’ birthday – his 250th - SFU will host festivities on Friday, Jan. 23 at all three campuses featuring pipers, poetry and haggis:
11 a.m. Surrey campus: A piper-led procession will celebrate with a toast, followed by haggis sampling and featuring a fiddlers performance
12:30 p.m. Burnaby campus: more celebrations (toast and haggis) and the first Dressed to Kilt fashion show – students and staff strutting their Scottish stuff - all in the Highland pub
3 p.m. Vancouver campus, Harbour Centre: the last of the celebrations, featuring Scottish country dancers.
The procession will be led by a member of the Robert Malcolm Memorial Jr. Pipe Band and accompanied by dignitaries including Surrey councillor Barbara Steele and mayors Derek Corrigan (Burnaby) and Gregor Robertson (Vancouver).
6 p.m. The SFU Robbie Burns dinner and silent auction at the Executive Plaza Hotel in Coquitlam, featuring performances by the reigning and five-time world champion SFU Pipe Band and the Robert Malcolm Memorial Pipe Band. Call 604.463.3421 or email gdmclean@telus.net for information.
1 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 25 (the actual date of his birthday) http://www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com/at the Burns statue in Stanley Park, SFU’s Centre for Scottish Studies is hosting a virtual birthday bash, which will see gatherings around the world send greetings and photos to each other via the internet. See details at www.sfu.ca/scottish
For more on the cyberspace celebration and a contest to create a virtual memorial see also http://www.sfu.ca/pamr/media_releases/media_releases_archives/media_01150903.html
6 p.m. Sunday, SFU alumnus Todd Wong’s 12th annual Gun Haggis Fat Choy cultural event takes place at the Floata Chinese Restaurant in Vancouver. See http://www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com/