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April 5,
2010
HUNTERSVILLE, NC: Rural Hill, Inc. and Rural Hill, Center of Scottish Heritage,
will celebrate National Tartan Day April 6, and don their
tartans in anticipation of the 17th Annual Rural Hill
Scottish Festival and Loch Norman Highland Games on April 17–18,
2010. Many clans wear their tartans to the Festival and Games,
and vendors will be onsite to help find your family tartan. The
world-famous Celtic Rock band Albannach from Scotland will be
performing throughout the weekend and at a special Saturday
night Celtic music concert. Complete details, schedules and
tickets are available online at
www.ruralhillscottishfestivals.net.
What is a tartan? More
that just plaid, tartans have become synonymous with Scotland
and Scottish clans and families in particular. Originally a
style of cloth intended for festive decoration, weavers relied
on a limited range of color dyes and were made of the local
coarser type of wool for their specific plaid designs. This has
lead to the idea of tartans being the original association
between the land, the community and its cloth. Where there was a
strong clan within a district, as was often the case in the
highlands, visitors from other areas might have been recognized
from their clan tartan.
In the U.S. it is estimated that there are 6
million people who claim Scottish descent. In 1998 the National
Capital Tartan Day Committee, a coalition of Scottish-American
organizations, successfully lobbied the Senate for the
designation of April 6 as National Tartan Day "to recognize the
outstanding achievements and contributions made by Scottish
Americans to the United States." On March 9, 2005, the U.S.
House of representatives unanimously adopted House Resolution
41, which designates April 6 of each year as "National Tartan
Day.” H.Res.41 Chief Sponsors were Congressmen Mike McIntyre
from North Carolina and John Duncan from Tennessee.
The 17th Annual Rural Hill
Scottish Festival and Loch Norman Highland Games are set for
April 17–18, 2010. With professional Scottish heavy athletic
competition, amateur heavy athletics, international as well as
regional music talents in Celtic rock, traditional and
contemporary Celtic music, piping and drumming, highland
dancing, Scottish country dancing, harp and fiddle competitions,
children’s activities, open hearth cooking demonstrations at our
1760’s homestead site and our famous historic encampment, the
weekend will be fun for the entire family. Proceeds support
the preservation of Rural Hill. Complete details, schedules and
advance tickets are available online at
www.ruralhillscottishfestivals.net.
Rural Hill is located at 4431
Neck Road (off Beatties Ford Road) in Huntersville, 28078. The
former homestead of Major John and Violet Davidson, the 265 acre
site is maintained and promoted by Rural Hill, Inc. (CVSS). Rural Hill features annual events such as the
Rural Hill Scottish Festival and Loch Norman Highland Games, the
Rural Hill Amazing Maize Maze and the Rural Hill Sheep Dog
Trials. Education programs and tours are available throughout
the year. CVSS is a non-profit organization supported through
membership and donations, and with proceeds from its events
utilized for the preservation of historic Rural Hill and its
education efforts. For more information on events or for
financial support accepted securely online, please visit
www.ruralhill.net. |
