Burns Night is a celebration of the birthday of Scottish poet Robert Burns. Each year, people worldwide gather at various events to mark the occasion. This is true of the Rosenbach Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Rosenbach’s 2025 event was my first Burns Night experience and an experience it was.
Admittedly, I went in thinking I knew exactly how things would unfold despite never having been to a Burns Night. I read “Clanlands Almanac” and talked to a friend in Scotland about what to expect. While some of these expectations were upheld, others were not.
The night started by trying some whisky if you chose. Those
who decided to participate could vote on their favorite whisky and be entered
into a raffle. Snacks were also available. The event began with some songs that
Robert Burns wrote the lyrics to. There were also poetry readings. The music and
the poetry alternated throughout the evening. The haggis was brought at about
halfway through. Most of the time, bagpipes play when the haggis is brought in,
but the Rosenbach space was a bit too small.
The music and poetry readings made up the majority of the
event, with breaks to try the haggis and whisky (neither are my jam). I went in
with a particular thought of how things were going to go, including Buns Night
classics like “Address to the Ladies” and “Reply to the Address to the Ladies.”
There was somewhat of a “Toast to the Immortal Memory.” I also went in with the
expectation that there would be dancing, but that did not happen.
My favorite part of the night was singing “Auld Lang Syne”
at the end. We all linked hands and formed an awkward circle as best we could.
In the second verse, we crossed our arms and held hands again, which proved to
be difficult for me and the other short person next to me. This moment was special
because we all joined together to sing a song by a poet we were all
celebrating.
Overall, this night was not what I had expected, but it was
still enjoyable. After the event was over, I ventured to see Dublin in the
Portal and treated myself to dinner at an Irish pub nearby.
Rating: 6.5/10 Roses