Bagpipes, dancing, and men in kilts - a very happy birthday to Scotland's favourite son

So, a few weeks ago a coworker of mine told me about the Bobby Burns festival that they have here in town every year. The first image that came to my mind was a group of people sitting around listening to someone read the poetry of Robert Burns. While I have nothing against poetry, the thought just didn't sound all that exciting.
Then, I learned that the Bobby Burns festival is a celebration of Scottish Heritage and includes Scottish Dancing, and music, and a meal...Apparently it is called the Bobby Burns festival, because Bobby Burns is revered by the Scottish people. In fact, in 2009, he was voted the "Greatest Scot" by the Scottish Public (Wikipedia, "Robert Burns"). The festival is always held the last Saturday in January, in celebration of Bobby Burns' January 25th Birthday.

(He's a pretty good looking guy, but apparently he had a few affairs in his lifetime)

Anyway, Scottish Dancing, Bagpipe and Drum Music, Men in Kilts...I'm in!

So, my coworker called to get us some tickets, and guess what? SOLD OUT! 850 tickets SOLD OUT! And a 50 person waiting list to get tickets. I learned it is a very popular event on the Eastern side of the state, as many of the people have Scottish ancestry and there are many people who come from neighboring towns that participate and attend.

So, out of luck, right? Wrong! My coworker's daughter was volunteering at the event. Maybe we could volunteer also. We were in luck. It turns out many of the groups who usually volunteer at the event were unable to volunteer that year, so they were more than happy to have our help.

(one of Robert Burns' poems - I added this picture just to break up the words)

The volunteering last from 3:30 to 10:30 - much longer than I expected, and I was busy working most of the time, so I didn't get to see much of the show. I was able to hear it, though, and I was able to watch a couple of performances during our eating break.

I really didn't mind the volunteering, but I would have loved to see more of the show. I think next time I go I'll either try to get my tickets early or I'll try to get a volunteering job like one of my other coworkers had. She was in charge of playing the CD music for the Scottish dances.

The performances I saw were great (and I'm sure the rest were as well). The pipes and drums bands - yes, there were multiple pipes and drums bands - were incredible. But the best part? The men in kilts. I never thought I'd be saying this, but men can look good in kilts. Seriously. (Much better looking than Mel Gibson in Braveheart). -- I tried to find some pictures of men in kilts, but none of the ones I found seemed quite right. I guess you'll have to find your own pictures.