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Do more for St Andrew's Day
31/10/2008
St Andrew's Day is packing a particular punch this year in the run up to Homecoming Scotland 2009 and the Scottish Government is encouraging everyone to 'DO more' to celebrate the country's national day.
Culture Minister Linda Fabiani today announced a programme of events planned for cities and towns across the country with the flagship event, The St Andrew's DO, taking place in the heart of the capital city.
Edinburgh's West Princes Street Gardens will host the The St Andrew's DO, with a range of free entertainment activities for families, teenagers and adults over the entire St Andrew's Day weekend on November 29-30.
St Andrew's Day also marks the start of Edinburgh's Winter Festival programme and provides a taste of the celebrations to come over Hogmanay and Burns Night, leading into Homecoming Scotland in 2009.
See full list of events
Ms Fabiani said:
"St Andrew's Day is an opportunity for everyone at home, and our friends around the world, to celebrate Scotland - from our rich heritage to our vibrant modern culture.
"This year there is a great programme of events from our St Andrew's DO in Edinburgh to the various ceilidhs and street parties taking place all around the country. In addition to all the wonderful events scheduled in Scotland, many of the millions of affinity Scots all over the world will be celebrating St Andrew's Day, from the St Andrews Society of Toronto to the Scottish Australian Heritage Society in Sydney - this is a great platform in the run up to Homecoming next year.
"Building on the successful "Visit for Free" initiative from last year, the public will again be able to visit some of our top visitor attractions with castles, museums, gardens and abbeys from Orkney to Jedburgh taking part on 30 November.
"St Andrew's Day also kicks off the Winter Festival running through Hogmanay and culminating on Burns Night - it's vital that we use our winter cultural calendar to showcase Scotland as a great year-round visitor destination and maximise tourism revenues at this time of global economic downturn.
"This year's celebrations are particularly special because they will be the warm up to Homecoming 2009. Marking the 250th anniversary of the birth of Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns, Homecoming will pick up the thread from St Andrew's Day to celebrate Scotland's great achievements and our ties of family and friendship around the world.
"I encourage all Scots everywhere and anyone with a connection to Scotland to do more this year - celebrate our national day and enjoy the inimitable culture of Scotland old and new."
See full list of events
The St Andrew's DO
In the capital, the St Andrew's DO will celebrate Scottish culture and heritage, kicking off with a 'happy march', which will see hundreds of youngsters march to the gardens in full Saltire colours. The family-friendly programme of events includes workshops, storytelling, games and ceilidh dancing for children as well as dance workshops and urban theatre for teenagers and young adults.
One of the highlights of the weekend will be performances from Hip Hop Scotch, which brings the sounds of the bagpipe together with a Hip Hop DJ. The Saturday evening will boast entertainment from Sandi Thom and contemporary Celtic band Salsa Celtica.
Taste of events around the country
Events include a ceilidh in Aberdeen, a fashion show and medieval day in Dundee and a street party featuring the Red Hot Chilli Pipers in Inverness. Glasgow's George Square plays host to live music and ceilidh dancing in the city's 'Shindig on the Square', and in St Andrews itself, entertainment includes a St Andrew's Day procession and an outdoor stage with entertainment and music.
Visit for Free
'Visit for Free' is a joint initiative with more than 60 of Scotland's top visitor attractions open on St Andrew's Day. The partners are The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Scotland and the Association of Visitor Attractions.