With socks up to—and kilts down to—their knees, members of the Fort Frances Highlanders were dressed in traditional Scottish attire for the annual Robert Burns Supper at La Place Rendez-Vous here Saturday night.
The supper was in honour Scotland’s most famous poet, Robert “Robbie” Burns. But the also is a time to experience Scottish culture and fare, including some unusual cuisine like “haggis and neeps.”
For those who haven’t experience haggis before, an explanation is in order. This traditional Scottish food is a combination of sheep innards, including lungs and liver, mixed with oatmeal and spices, then boiled in a sheep’s stomach.
It is served with mashed turnips. Sounds good? Well, it actually is.
On this night, the haggis had the constancy of holiday dressing and the rich, powerful aroma (not to mention taste) of an expensive French liver pate. Seconds were in order, though hard to come by since most had adventurous souls, taking a nip of neeps and a wee bit of haggis.
The delicacy was brought in from Winnipeg, along with some honourary guests from the Shrine Band.
The event was hosted by the Fort Frances Highlanders, who also played after supper. The money raised will go to offset costs for a music school the group is hosting here in July.
More than 100 pipers and drummers will be in Fort Frances for the event.
“We’re really seeing a band renaissance,” said Dr. Bruce Lidkea of the Fort Frances Highlanders. “We’re already getting calls for summer parades.
“It’s a chance to showcase the band,” he said of their hosting the supper. “The band is really coming along. I’m damn proud.”
“I think it went really well,” said supper co-ordinator Marie Anderson. “There were 145 people for supper, plus spectators for the entertainment.”
Anderson indicated that it was a sell-out crowd and that they even had to turn people away in the end. “Next year it will be by advance ticket sales only,” she said, adding she hated turning people away.
A formal Robbie Burns night is about tradition. The haggis isn’t merely dished out for consumption. It is piped in and paraded around the room. The crowd claps their hands with the music and, at times, even joins the parade behind the haggis.
Then there is the address to the haggis. Burns’ poem, “Address to Haggis,” is boisterously recited and only then can it be consumed.
Other traditions include the toast to the lasses and the reply to the gents. They are rather humorous observations about the opposite sex, but respectful, in honour of Burns’ reputation as a lady’s man.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
