Tartan Week 2006 Gearing Up to Paint New York Plaid!

Tartan Week 2006 Gearing Up to Paint New York Plaid!

City Celebrates Scotland with Runs, Parades, Models, and Dances, April 1-8

NEW YORK, March 30 /PRNewswire/ -- From April 1-8, 2006, New York City will host Tartan Week, a celebration of all things Scottish with exciting events including: the Scotland 10k Run, Dressed to Kilt, Runrig in concert, and the 8th Annual NYC Tartan Day Parade.

Tartan Week commemorates the Scots who helped build America-adding to the architecture and economy over the generations, as well as the population, as up to 25 percent of Americans can claim Scottish ancestry. New York's rich history with Scotland begins with its name: the City is named after the Duke of York, later the Scottish King James VII. Many of New York's iconic institutions also have Scottish roots. Carnegie Hall, for example, was funded by Scot Andrew Carnegie after he brought the idea for the great concert hall to life during his Scottish honeymoon with his New York bride.

Scotland has also influenced and affected American culture and society from across the pond: Scotland is the birthplace of golf, the country where the characters of Harry Potter and Sherlock Holmes were conceived, and home to the first city in the world to be given the title "City of Literature" by UNESCO.

During Tartan Week, New York will become the place to experience and celebrate the spirit of Scotland. Highlights of the week promise to be:

The Scotland 10k Run
Central Park, Entrance at Central Park West and 61st Street
April 2, 2006, 10:00 a.m.
Run to the beat of bagpipers or join in the festivities as you cheer from
the sidelines.
Runners and spectators alike are welcome. To sign up for the run fill out
an entry form at http://www.nyrr.com/.

Dressed to Kilt
Synod Hall - St. John the Divine Cathedral Garden Amsterdam Ave. at West
110th Street
April 3, 2006, 7:30 p.m.
A fantastic evening featuring the latest in kilt fashions as modeled by
celebrities.
To purchase tickets visit http://www.dressedtokilt.com/.

Runrig Concert
Nokia Theatre, 1515 Broadway at 44th St.
April 4, 2006, 8:00 - 11:00 p.m.
Runrig, Scotland's Premier Celtic Band, will give their first live
performance in the United States, fans from all over the US, Canada and
Europe are preparing to make the trip to hear this widely acclaimed band.
Tickets available now on http://www.ticketmaster.com/.

8th Annual Tartan Day Parade
6th Avenue from 44th Street to 58th Street
April 8, 2006, 2:00 p.m.
Celebrate the end of Tartan Week as several thousand bagpipers and
drummers march down 6th Avenue to celebrate Scottish culture. Open to all.
For more information visit http://www.tartanweekny.com/.

A full listing of Tartan Week events can be found at http://www.tartanweekny.com/. And for those who cannot make it to New York for Tartan Week, they can still absorb Scottish culture via the web by taking a journey through the Scotland Culture Cast podcast. Listen to commentary about Scotland's finest modern writers, enjoy music from Scotland's up and coming rock superstars, and take a virtual taste test of traditional Scottish food. The Scotland Culture Cast can be found at http://www.scotlandculturecast.com/.

Tartan Week

From April 1-8, 2006 New York City hosts a celebration of all that's best about Scotland. The US Senate designated April 6th as National Tartan Day in 1998 to honor "the outstanding contribution of millions of Scottish-Americans to our great nation" and the House of Representatives passed a similar resolution in 2005. The significance of April 6th dates back to the 1320 signing of the Declaration of Arbroath, which was the model for the American Declaration of Independence. New York City has celebrated Tartan Day since 1999 and every year, the amount of activities here has increased to the point that it is now referred to as Tartan Week. Throughout Tartan Week 2006 there will be a huge variety of events, most of them FREE, highlighting the vibrancy of Scottish culture, past and present, and this year's Tartan Week program is more exciting than ever.

Scottish Executive

The Scottish Executive is the devolved government for Scotland. It is responsible for most of the issues of day-to-day concern to the people of Scotland, including health, education, justice, rural affairs, and transport. The Executive was established in 1999, following the first elections to the Scottish Parliament. It is a coalition between the Scottish Labour Party and the Scottish Liberal Democrat Party. The Executive is led by a First Minister who is nominated by the Parliament and in turn appoints the other Scottish Ministers who make up the Cabinet. Executive civil servants are accountable to Scottish Ministers, who are themselves accountable to the Scottish Parliament.

Source: Scottish Executive

CONTACT: Erica Slep of MWW Group, +1-212-827-3756, eslep@mww.com, for
Scottish Executive

Web site: http://www.tartanweekny.com/
http://www.scotlandculturecast.com/
http://www.dressedtokilt.com/
http://www.nyrr.com/
http://www.ticketmaster.com/

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