“His knife see rustic Labour dight,
An cut you up wi ready slight,
Trenching your gushing entrails bright,
Like onie ditch;
And then, O what a glorious sight,
Warm-reekin, rich!”
(From Address to a Haggis, by Robert Burns)
Haggis may well be a kind of holy delicacy for some palates. But just remember, it’s rich taste and gastrological impacts have a way of staying with you throughout the day, and even into the night. And goodness knows what might happen the next morning.
Scottish entertainer and storyteller Seamus Gunn, the bushy bearded one, will recite the blessed bard’s ceremonial poem Sunday to kick off Robbie Burns Day celebrations at the Guelph Civic Museum.
Those celebrations begin at 11 a.m. and run until 4:30 p.m. Expect highland dancing, the piercing strains of bagpipes, good old Celtic music, and the pungent aroma of haggis. The haggis scent may linger.
“Robbie Burns Day is one of our most well attended events of the year – always something we look forward to,” said Sarah Ball, community relations coordinator of Guelph Museums.
Previous Robbie Burns Day celebrations at the museum have attracted upwards of 200 people.
“We think it’s important to celebrate Robert Burns Day not only to honour Scotland’s acclaimed poet, but to also pay tribute to Guelph’s own Scottish heritage,” Ball said, adding that Gunn’s rendition of Address to a Haggis sets the tone for an afternoon of Scottish favourites.
Admission to the event for the general public is $5, or $15 for families of up to two adults and four children. It is free for children under the age of four, and for Guelph Museum members.
Following Gunn’s opening performance, the Mary Ellen Cann School of Highland Dance will leap and swing their tartan. And Eva McCauley and Fair Wind and Friends will provide the Celtic tunes.
A ceilidh will round out the day, with music by the Kitchen Party Trio, with caller Kari Kokko. A ceilidh, of course, is a rollicking party, with folk music, singing, and dancing. A good way to work off the haggis.
