Prepare for the Scottish Invasion!

Prepare for the Scottish Invasion!

Tartan Week in New York City Kicks off This Saturday

VisitScotland Brings the Sights, Sounds and Tastes of Scotland to Grand Central's Vanderbilt Hall for a Full Week of Free Events!

NEW YORK, March 30 /PRNewswire/ -- VisitScotland announces an exciting line-up of free events for Tartan Week 2006. From April 1-8, New York will come alive with the sites, sounds and tastes of Scotland when VisitScotland takes over Grand Central Terminal's Vanderbilt Hall and turns it into a lively Scottish Village. Enjoy free entertainment and events daily, including live music, dance performances, cooking demonstrations, fashion shows, a display of celebrity kilts and a literature section where Scottish authors will do readings and book signings. Visit http://www.tartanweekny.com/ for a complete list of events and times.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060330/NYTH010 )

If the Tartan Week festivities whet the appetite for a trip to Scotland, VisitScotland will be giving away a luxurious Scottish castle for one week! One lucky winner and their nine guests will receive five nights in Fenton Tower including airfare, all meals, drinks and activities. Register to win at http://www.tartanweekny.com/ . Visitors can also learn about Scottish festivals and events, special travel deals, and pick up free literature to help plan a trip to Scotland.

The following Vanderbilt Hall events are free and open to the public every day April 1-8, with the live entertainment taking place from approximately 11 am - 1:30 pm and 4 - 7 pm. Times are subject to change, so please visit the Web site for more details.

-- Live Music -- Check out two of Scotland's hottest Celtic-inspired
bands, the Peatbog Faeries and Finlay MacDonald Band, when they perform
rocking renditions of both Scottish classics and their own work.

-- Traditional Celtic Performing Arts -- Enjoy performances by
award-winning Highland dancers, Gaelic singers, bagpipers and a live
"Clarsach" harpist throughout the week.

-- Celebrity Kilts -- Kilts are a hot fashion statement! See actual kilts
worn by celebrities including Ozzy and Jack Osbourne, British pop
phenom Robbie Williams, and Liam Neeson and Jessica Lange in the
Scottish historical epic Rob Roy.

-- Live Cooking Demonstrations, Free Recipe Cards! -- Join Scottish chef
Joe Queen of MacDonald Hotels as he prepares Scottish delicacies during
live daily demonstrations. Dishes will include seared Isle of Skye king
sea scallops and Glenfiddich Whisky custard.

-- Live Scottish Fashion Show -- Preview the newest fashions -- including
purses, bags, scarves, kilts and other clothing -- from Scottish
designers Lochcarron of Scotland, Howie Nicholsby of 21st Century
Kilts, Catherine Aitken, Tartania, Ness, Bystorm and Gaelo Jewelry.

-- Wellie Making -- Watch how the famous Hunter Wellies, rubber rain boots
worn by many A-list celebrities, are made.

-- Free Information on your Scottish Ancestors -- Experts in Scottish
family history will be available for complimentary, one-on-one guidance
on how New Yorkers follow in the footsteps of their Scottish ancestors.

-- Whisky Discussions -- Glenfiddich cooperage presents the production and
history of its brand and Scottish distilleries.

-- Scottish Youth Theatre -- Scotland's national theatre for and by young
people will present the world premiere of its brand new musical,
GEORDIE, treating visitors of the Scottish Village to a sneak preview
of this heart-warming tale with a distinctly Scottish flavor.

-- Highland 2007 -- The Scottish Village will showcase this huge
celebration of Scottish Culture in 2007. The year-long festival will
take place throughout the Highlands and will include events such as the
International Tattoo, World Championship Highland Games, World Mountain
Biking Championships, World Adventure Racing Championships, Six Cities
Festival of Design and the Highland Quest musical.

-- Lady Stormont of Scone Castle, Perthshire -- Meet Lady Stormont of
Scone Castle in Perthshire, the crowning place of Scottish Kings
including Macbeth and Robert the Bruce.

-- Glasgow's Famous Architect -- Discover the beautiful architecture of
Glasgow's famous architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh. His Art
Nouveau-inspired designs are evident throughout this cosmopolitan city.

-- Literary Edinburgh -- Explore Scotland's rich legacy of poetry, prose
and thought courtesy of the City of Edinburgh, UNESCO's first City of
Literature. Edinburgh inspired and nurtured the likes of Robert Louis
Stevenson, Sir Walter Scott, Robert Burns, and some of today's most
renowned writers, including J.K. Rowling.

New York City will host several other Tartan Week events throughout the week of April 1 - 8 including a parade down Sixth Avenue, Whisky Live, The Scotland Run through Central Park and live Scottish music throughout the city. For complete details on the Scottish Village and other events, please visit http://www.tartanweekny.com/ . Scottish Village event times are subject to change.

About Tartan Week

The US Senate designated April 6 as National Tartan Day in 1998 to honor "the outstanding contribution of millions of Scottish-Americans to our great nation." The significance of April 6 dates back to the 1320 signing of the Declaration of Arbroath, the Scottish Declaration of Independence, which was used as the model for the American Declaration of Independence.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060330/NYTH010
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: VisitScotland

CONTACT: Elizabeth Bishop of Laura Davidson Public Relations, for
VisitScotland, +1-212-696-0660, Elizabeth@ldpr.com

Web site: http://www.tartanweekny.com/

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