Eden Court’s ‘Big Burns Stramash’ brings out the crowds for the bard
EDEN Court CREATIVE hosted their Big Burns Stramash on Saturday 23 January, with hundreds of families attending to join in the Bard’s birthday celebrations.
The full day’s events were supported by Scotland’s Winter Festivals 2015/2016 programme
Families were invited along to a day of free activities at Eden Court including The Haggis Highland Games, Learn the Ghoulish Jig (a chance to learn a new Scottish dance for the ceilidh later on) and drop-in Lantern Making workshops to get themselves prepared for a lantern-lit procession at twilight.
In the Playhouse cinema were several screenings of the Stramash-Up! film schools project – where sections of Tam O’Shanter performed by ten local primary school had ben edited together by the CREATIVE Team into a short film. An extra screening had to be added on the day due to the high demand for seats!
As the sun was setting, a crowd of more than 200 people gathered outside Eden Court to watch a live performance by Eden Court’s National 5 Drama students, retelling the opening scene from Tam O’Shanter.
As Tam and his beautifully-crafted mechanical horse, Meg (brought to life by Greg Dobson, Caitlin Turnbull and Eilish Turnbull), fled the ghosts and ghouls of the Kirk, the City of Inverness Youth Pipe Band lead the procession on behind them.
As the procession crossed Infirmary Bridge, the handmade lanterns in various colours stood out in the darkness and shone brightly while the crowd made their way back along the riverside to Eden Court.
The procession was followed by a sold-out Wee Burns Ceilidh where children and families of all ages whirled their way through dances and games and finally toasted the Bard with shortbread and a wee glass of Irn-Bru!
Finally the Big Burns Ceilidh rounded off the day and gave adults the chance to let their hair down without the kids. Live music from the Ceilidh Commandoes – a one-off ‘supergroup’ featuring Gary Innes (Manran), Ewen Henderson (Manran), Alec Dalglish (Skerryvore) and Martin O’Neill (Treacherous Orchestra) – kept the crowd on their feet all night and everyone left on a high.
Eden Court CREATIVE manager, Lucy McGlennon, said: “The band were fantastic hosts, we look forward to welcoming them to Eden Court again in the future. We were delighted to have so many families attend the Big Burns Stramash too; whether taking part in our workshops, seeing the screenings, or just making a lantern and joining us for the procession everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves and there was a great Burns buzz around the place!”
ENDS
For further information, interview requests or to arrange picture opportunities, please contact Eden Court marketing department / marketing@eden-court.co.uk / 01463 239 841
Notes to editors:
Eden Court
- Eden Court is the largest multi-arts venue in Scotland. It re-opened in November 2007 following an extensive redevelopment programme, which saw the addition of two purpose built cinemas, a brand new flexible second theatre space and two dance and education studios.
- Eden Court CREATIVE Arts Workers live and work in ten different areas covering the whole of the Highlands of Scotland, from Nairn to Skye, from Lochaber to Caithness. They specialise in making drama, dance and digital media activities accessible to both children and adults in the Highlands. Eden Court CREATIVE also employs two Additional Support Needs specialists, making the Arts as accessible as possible for the entire community.
- Eden Court is the only theatre in Scotland to offer Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) courses in Drama and Dance. These are extracurricular courses, which offer pupils from across Highland the opportunity to study at Eden Court for an SQA Higher Dance, Drama or Intermediate 2 exams. Aside from Eden Court, there is only one school in the Highlands where pupils can sit SQA Higher Drama exams.
Scotland’s Winter Festivals
- Scotland’s Winter Festivals, which runs from November until the end of January, is a Scottish Government initiative delivered in partnership with VisitScotland and a wide range of other organisations. Through the celebration of our three national days – St Andrews Day, Hogmanay and Burns Night. Scotland’s Winter Festivals aims to boost Scotland’s economy and international profile and also enhance community engagement through a programme of funded and partner events.
Burns Night
- Burns, our national bard, is one of Scotland’s favourite icons encapsulating the very essence that makes Scots Scottish – creative, proud and confident.
- Robert Burns, or ‘Rabbie’ as he is affectionately known, was born in Alloway, South Ayrshire, in 1732. He began writing poetry and songs at an early age and became famous across Scotland for his writings.
- After his death at the age of just 37, Rabbie’s works became internationally renowned and to this day, people from all corners of the world sing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ to bring in the New Year.
- Every year on Burns’ birthday, 25 January, Scots and Scots at heart from across the globe celebrate his life in a variety of traditional ways, including addressing the haggis, toasting the lassies and a reciting of the Selkirk Grace.
- More information about how to celebrate Burns’ Day and the life of the Bard himself can be found at www.scotland.org/burns
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Eden Court contact details…
Contact: Teresa Bendoris
Phone: 01463239841
Email: marketing@eden-court.co.uk
Website: http://www.eden-court.co.uk
