Burns Dinner
Annual Robbie Burns Dinner & Dance
Each year the EPS Pipes and Drums host a dinner and dance to celebrate the birthday of the famous Scot, Robert Burns. The dinner is normally attended by about 400 and features Highland Dancing and music plus the traditional “Address To a Haggis”. To learn more about the haggis and the famous address, click here. Our next dinner will be on in January 18st, 2025. To download a copy of the poster click here.
A Brief History Of Roberts Burns And His Supper
Burns Suppers have been a part of Scottish culture for about 200 years as a means of commemorating our best-loved bard, Robert Burns. In all, more than 400 of Burns’ songs are still in existence. Close friends of Burns started the Burns Supper ritual a few years after his death in 1796, as a tribute to his memory.
Burns was born in Scotland in 1759 to a poor tenant farmer, and spent his youth working his father’s farm. In spite of his poverty, Burns was extremely well-read. At 15, Robert was the principal worker on the farm and this prompted him to start writing in an attempt to find “some kind of counterpoise for his circumstances.” His first verse, My Handsome Nell, was an ode to the other subjects that dominated his life, namely whiskey and women.
The last years of Burns’ life were devoted to penning great poetic masterpieces such as The Lea Rig, Tam O’Shanter, and a Red, Red Rose. Alas, the trappings of fame did not bring fortune.
On the anniversary of Robert Burns’ birth, Scots both at home and abroad celebrate with a supper, where they address the haggis, the ladies, and whiskey. The haggis is a pudding made from sheep’s offal, beef suet and lightly toasted oatmeal, traditionally placed inside the sheep’s stomach, which is then boiled for up to three hours. The host recites Burns’ famous poem 'To A Haggis' with great enthusiasm, and then toasts the haggis with a glass of whiskey.
