East Tennessee State University’s Appalachian, Scottish and Irish Studies Program hosts a Burns Night Dinner to benefit the Thomas G. Burton Scholarship Fund Friday, Jan. 25, from 7-9 p.m. in the Grand Soldiers Ballroom at the Carnegie Hotel in Johnson City.
Burns Night Dinners are held around the world to celebrate the works and life of Scotland’s national bard, Robert Burns (1759-1796).
Wellington’s Restaurant provides a traditional dinner with entertainment by ETSU’s Celtic band. The running order for the evening includes piping in the haggis, known as the national dish of Scotland; the address to the haggis; the toast to the haggis; the presentation of the “Immortal Memory,†which is “a rather serious and careful consideration of the life and art of Robert Burns;†and the singing of Burns’ most famous song, “Auld Lang Syne.â€
The Burton Scholarship Endowment was created to honor Dr. Thomas Burton, who initiated and developed the Appalachian, Scottish and Irish Studies Program, and to financially assist student participants in the ASIS Study Abroad course in Scotland and Ireland. The ASIS Program is part of ETSU’s Department of Appalachian Studies.
Tickets to the Burns Night Dinner are $75 per person or $130 for a couple. A portion of the ticket cost is tax deductible. Seating is limited and guests should RSVP by Jan. 21. For tickets, contact Kevin Masters at 423-979-6718 or kevin@wellingtonsrestaurant.com.
For more information on the Burns Night Dinner or the Appalachian, Scottish and Irish Studies Program, contact Dr. Jane MacMorran, ASIS director, at macmorra@etsu.edu. For disability accommodations, call the ETSU Office of Disability Services at 423-439-8346.