Argus News Editor
The Four Seasons Community Center in Caledonia will be filled with the music of the Northland Mountain Dulcimers and the La Crosse and District Pipes and Drums during the 15th Annual Scottish Heritage Dinner Saturday, March 21.
The evening will begin at 6 p.m. with “Bide A Wee” (the social hour), followed by the Piping of the Haggis, which is an old Scottish tradition, at 6:45. The “Ode to a Haggis,” written by the 18th century poet Robert Burns, will be read, and dinner will be served at 7:15.
The announcement of the Scot of the Year Award will be made following the dinner.
“We want everyone to come and join us for a night of good food, good friends, and great entertainment,” Scottish heritage committee member Kermit McRae said. “You don’t have to be Scottish to enjoy the rich heritage of music and dancing!”
Tickets for the event are $20 per person and can be purchased at the Caledonia Area Chamber of Commerce office, Bank of the West, Merchants Bank, or from McRae.
The entertainers
The Northland Mountain Dulcimers is a group of senior citizens from Rochester that performs the music of Scotland, Ireland and American folk music on instruments known as the Appalachian Mountain dulcimer.
The plucked dulcimer was developed in the Appalachian Mountains several centuries ago by the Ulster and Lowland Scots that settled there. The instrument consists of a narrow fingerboard attached to a larger sound box.
The Northland Mountain Dulcimers grew out of a Rochester Community Education class taught by Nancy Kampmeier, who serves as the group’s music director. The group is made up of 10 dulcimer players accompanied by three guitars.
The La Crosse and District Pipes and Drums is a Scottish pipe and drum band organized in La Crosse, Wis. in the early 1970s when Burleigh Randolph started his quest in learning to play the bagpipes. This was due to his long time interest in this unique instrument. He connected with Dave Thomas who was the Pipe Major of the Mantorville Grenadiers; a bagpipe band in Mantorville, Minn.
After several years of lessons, Randolph decided to share his love for bagpipes with others in the Coulee Region. He started teaching a chanter class at Western Wisconsin Technical Institute in 1976 with 15 students. A number of those original students are still members of the band.
Also known as the La Crosse Highlanders, the band currently has approximately 28 members. They have been a regular part of the Scottish Heritage Dinner in Caledonia for many years.
You can contact Charlie Warner at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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