Join us at the Kula Farm Saturday, November 7th, at 5pm for the traditional bonfire, effigy buring, and fireworks!  Bring a bag chair and a dish to share.  Board games are welcome and we’ll try to fit in some dancing, too!  Invite your friends, open to non-members!  Contact a board member or visit our Facebook page for more information!

We will be promoting CelticFest this Saturday in the Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival parade, followed by a Kilt Krawl (pub crawl) in the NewBo district.  If you can join us, please meet in the staging area at 9am in Czech Village, at the corner of 18th Ave SW and A St SW.  We will be handing out fliers, and you are also welcome to bring candy to pass out to the children along the route.  And, of course, wear kilts (if you have them) and HAGGIS t-shirts!  See you there!

We are again hosting a Highland Games Practice Day at Lower Kingston Stadium, Saturday, May 23rd at 11AM.

All are invited to attend!  Have you ever wanted to try out Highland Games without the pressure of competition?  Whether it is the caber toss or hammer throw, come and learn all about the different events, and give them a try alongside experienced instructors.

Practice now, compete later, at CelticFest July 18th at Squaw Creek Park!

This event is free and open to the public!

Our annual Burns Dinner is approaching!  Saturday, January 24th, social time starting at 4pm.  Be sure you click on the tab above to make your reservation.  We have several areas where we need help: setting up and decorating starting at 10AM, providing soda bread for the tables, providing desserts or judging the winners of our dessert contest, giving toasts, serving, providing raffle items, and cleaning up.  Let a council member know if you are able to help with any of these tasks, to make the event a fun and easy night for all!

It’s that time of year again, and this one promises to be a great turn-out!  Join fellow HAGGIS members at the Kula farm starting at 4pm for socializing and potluck, then stick around for the traditional bonfire, effigy burning, and fireworks starting at 6pm.  Contact a council member for directions.

Though the world’s attention has been on Scotland in recent days, few Midwesterners realize Scotland’s influence close to home. Sir Walter Scott never visited the United States yet left a lasting legacy on the landscape. From the states of Ohio to Nebraska, towns christened Waverly (named for a fascination with Scott’s best-selling Waverley novels) burgeoned forth between 1830 and 1880, including Waverly, Iowa. The New York Times noted last year that these novels were more influential than those by Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and Herman Melville.

In recognition of the bicentennial of Waverley, the first of these wildly popular novels, a series of lectures and a celebration of literature, music, and dance will take place in Iowa City from October 1 to October 5. Sunday’s literary and musical program features bagpipers Robert Gray and Ed Raber, Scottish fiddler Jeremy Kittel, soprano Jennifer Macfarlane Haworth, tenor Kevin Hanick, guitarist Jack Stapleton, and the Iowa City Crescendo Children’s Choir.  Scottish dancers hail from Iowa and Kansas.  Alan Riach, Professor of Scottish Literature at the University of Glasgow and Ida Beam Visiting Professor at the University of Iowa, will narrate the story of “Sir Walter Scott’s Legacy in Iowa,” held in conjunction with the UNESCO Iowa City Book Festival.

An author, teacher, and poet, Alan Riach has been an active participant in debates for Scottish independence, both on BBC Radio and in numerous publications, and his recent book Arts of Independence argues why Scottish culture should be at the heart of the independence debate. He will also be giving lectures for the public (see below).

Please consider attending any or all of the events, particularly the 3:30 lecture on Thursday afternoon and the Sunday performance at the Englert Theatre!

Wednesday, October 1

Lecture for undergraduates (and open to the public):  “Why Scottish Literature Matters”

3:30-4:45, 304 English-Philosophy Building

Thursday, October 2

Lunchtime program with the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council: “Reflections on Scottish Literature, Nationalism, and the Recent Referendum and Elections” 12:00-1:15, Congregational Church, Jefferson and Clinton St.

For more details see: http://icfrc.org/about/.

Thursday, October 2

Public lecture:  “Scottish Poetry and Paintings: Politics and the Arts of Resistance”

3:30-4:45, 304 English-Philosophy Building

Friday, October 3

Brown-bag discussion with graduate students in the Department of English: “How Poems Work: A Reading of a Selection of Poems and Reflections on Their Purpose and Power”

1:00-2:30, 304 English-Philosophy Building

Sunday, October 5

Literary and musical performance free and open to the public:  “Celebrating Sir Walter Scott’s Legacy in Iowa”

3:00-4:30, The Englert Theatre, 221 E Washington St, Iowa City (see http://www.iowacitybookfestival.org/200th-anniversary-of-sir-walter-scotts-waverley-novels/

And many thanks to the generous sponsors for these events:  The University of Iowa Department of English, Ida Cordelia Beam Visiting Professorship, International Programs, and Scottish Highlanders Alumni and Friends; the Hawkeye Area Grand Gaelic Isle Society (H.A.G.G.I.S.); and the Preucil School of Music.

It’s almost time! It’s here! CELTICFEST IS IN TWO DAYS!

We’ll all be there, and we know you will be as well. Know who else will be there? These guys!

 Join us at Squaw Creek Park!

We still have a number of people who have not paid their dues for this year yet.

Don’t forget!  This Saturday is our monthly ceilidh at 6pm at Dublin City Pub.  This month special event lecture by Anne Stapleton on Walter Scott’s connections to Waverly, Iowa.  Plus, all the usual fun!

I have received lots of offers to help with set up, and for pouring beer, but I still have need of 2-hour shifts filled for parking, ticket booth, info booth, childrens area, garbage patrol, Highland Games liason, as well as volunteers to help with clean up and more food for the athletes (particularly fruit and cookies).  Remember, volunteering gets you in to the festival for FREE!