Lawrence Scots Presents
Lawrence Scottish Fest

Lawrence's 10th Annual Celtic Music Festival
Lawrence Arts Center, Sun, Jan 29th, 2006
Photos by Eileen Young

Members of Topeka's Pipers of the Plains kicked off the festival with resounding 3-part renditions of traditional Scottish tunes played on Highland bagpipes. Tom Averill, Bill Read and Dana Mason provided the robust piping.

Peggy Baker was again on hand with at Scottish Heritage Booth to answer questions about clan genealogy. Peggy is highly respected among Scots in this area, having served for many years as the Clan Row Coordinator for the Kansas City Scottish Highland Games.

Rocky Road Bakeries

The Festival's main attraction, however, was the food and treats provided by Rocky Road Bakeries. Cordelia went all out in providing a wide variety of samples of the following traditional Scottish food & treats, all made using Traditional Scottish Recipes! They ALL disappeared within 15 minutes of the doors opening!

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The Evening's Menu

Abernethy Biscuits - with caraway seeds and sugar. "Auld Reekie" Cock-a-Leekie Soup - chicken soup with whisky. Bannocks - also known as oatcakes. Caramel Shortbread - sometimes called "Millionaires' Shortbread". . Clapshot - potatoes, turnips and chives. ( Also called Tatties 'n' Neeps.) Edinburgh Fog - a popular confection. Green Pea Soup - serve hot or cold. Marmalade Cake - Mrs Keiller made marmalade in Dundee in 1797.

Oatmeal Gingerbread - oatmeal is often used in Scottish recipes. Paradise Cake - an easy to prepare recipe. "Parlies" - biscuits first supplied to Members of Parliament. Potato Scones - made from potato and flour. Ratafia Biscuits - almond flavoured biscuits/cookies. Scones - Delicious with butter and jam (preserves). Shortbread - a traditional biscuit/cookie. Tantallon Cakes - named after the ruined castle of Tantallon. Tayside Tang - a starter to get any meal off with a zing.

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The Concert

As is the tradition at most Robert Burns celebrations, we started with a short heritage regarding the poet, including reading some of his poems. We were very fortunate to have Rev Douglas Phenix join us again in this capacity. Douglas is a Scotsman himself, despite having lived in the states these last 12 years. His presence always adds authenticity to our celebration.

The piper requested an opportunity to sing a song with his sister-in-law, and how could
we possibly refuse such a request. Tom Averill is a long-time Burns enthusiast, and
Jeanne Averill is one of the most respected actresses and theater directors in the Midwest.

Maria Anthony & Megan Hurt then played a delightful
set of Robert Burns songs and Celtic music.

They were joined by Larry Carter on piano and Willy Peterson on bodhran.

Just before intermission, Ceremonial Guard Jeff Eubanks solemly followed
the pipers around the auditorium, carrying the sacred Haggis up to the stage.

Maria delivered the traditional "Address to the Haggis."

The pipers accepted the traditional dram of whisky like true gentlemen.

After intermission, Forest Green played their set of Robert Burns songs and Celtic music.

The harp and accordion made a lovely combination on "100 Pipers."

For their final song, Forest Green asked Douglas to lead the audience in this festival's favorite sing-along. "Oh the Clyde, the Clyde, the wonderous Clyde. The name of it thrills me and fills me with pride. I'm satisfied, whatever betides, For the sweetest of songs is the Song of the Clyde." "

And then it was time for Connie Dover's set. The pristine beauty of her voice with the full resonance of a grand piano was something we will long remember.

Connie sang some of her best loved songs, such as "Somebody," but she also introduced a new song
she was performing for the first time. Larry sat in on guitar on a couple of songs. What an honor!

The finale, of course, was "Auld Lang Syne," with Douglas, Jeanne, Maria and Connie
taking the solos and Cordelia providing a gorgeous harp accompaniment. It was a GREAT concert!

"Lawrence Scottish Fest" is starting to get the recognition it deserves. See the feature article about us in The Lawrencian and the glowing festival review in Lawrence Journal-World. Congratulations Lawrence Scots!

Next year's "Lawrence Scottish Fest" looks just a great. It's too early to officially announce yet, but we've invited what we consider to be the most creative Celtic band in the Lawrence area to perform. And Connie has already tentatively agreed to return two years from now.

Go to www.LawrenceScots.Org to get on our mailing list and to find out about what else we're up to.

We hope to see you next year on the last Sunday in January.

Larry Carter, Producer

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The "Lawrence Old Guard Production" Crew:

Larry Carter - Master of Ceremonies, Producer, Posters, Programs, Promotion, Webmaster
Cordelia Brown - Rocky Road Bakeries and Production Assistance
Alonzo Beardshear - Sound & Lights
Jeff Eubanks - Ceremonial Guard and Raffle
Eileen Young - Ticket table and photographer
Julie Anderson - Ticket table
Mark Gottschall - Video cameras and Product table
Bob Brown - Production assistance
Caroline Brown - Handing out programs

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Performers – In Order of Appearance:

Cordelia Brown – Cordelia spent much of the last week in her kitchen baking tonight’s Scottish treats and foods. In addition to Forest Green, she also performs solo on harp and piano. Cordelia is well-known for her weekday afternoon classical music program on Kansas Public Radio.

Peggy Baker – Peggy is highly respected among Scots in this area, having served for many years as the Clan Row Coordinator for the Kansas City Scottish Highland Games. She is here tonight to help answer questions regarding clan genealogy and Celtic heritage.

Thomas Fox Averill – Tom is an English professor at Washburn University, writer and Robert Burns enthusiast. His 2003 novel, The Slow Air of Ewan MacPherson, is a tribute to all things Scottish: haggis, Burns, whisky and bagpipes. He has been a piper for over a dozen years, playing with “Pipers of the Plains” in Topeka, Kansas.

Bill Read - Bill is one of the original members of the “Pipers of the Plains,” having helped form it some 30 years ago. He has competed at the national level as a soloist and has led bands in several competitive seasons. He has played for six governors of Kansas at the mansion. Bill is also Pipe Major of the 1-635th Armored Regt.

Rev. Douglas Phenix – A Glasgow native, Douglas did his theological training at Glasgow University and in New York City during the 1960’s. He returned to the states in 1980 and has been Presbyterian minister here for the past 12 years. He is a member of the Topeka Saint Andrew Society. He will be delivering the “Burns Heritage” and reading selected Burns poems, plus performing with Forest Green.

Jeanne Averill – Jeanne has earned many awards in her 25 years as an actress, director and teacher, including the “National Theater Teacher of the Year” award by American Alliance for Theatre in Education. She has appeared on many stages and in numerous NBC, CBS and independent films, including the toast of Sundance 2004, “CSA: The Confederate States of America.”

Maria Anthony – Maria is founder and leader of the folk-rock band Uncle Dirtytoes, and has produced and recorded four CDs. She is also a visual artist, with occasional exhibits at regional galleries. In the 1990’s she co-founded the River Valley Celtic Society with Liam Riggs, establishing the tradition of Robert Burns Celebrations in Lawrence. In 2003, she received a Kansas Arts Commission Fellowship award for her work “Kentigern: St Mungo of Scotland.” She currently enjoys performing Beatles music in "Vera, Chuck and Dave" and learning to play the sitar.

Megan Hurt - Megan is a founding member of Uncle Dirtytoes, the Sirens, and of the Switch, one of the very few local, alternative groups to feature a (heavily amplified) violin. She also owns and wears a most impressive collection of hats. Megan has a masters degree in English as a Second Language, and she teaches French at Lawrence High School.

Willy Peterson - Willy has long been performing on bodhran, including for many years with the Celtic band Boys of the Prairie. He currently performs with a wide variety of Kansas City musicians, extending the bodhran's range to include rock and Southern blues.

Larry Carter – Larry, who has been producer for this celebration since 2002, has played in a wide variety of bands over the last 25 year. He is a three-time winner in the Kansas Fiddling & Picking Championship, playing baritone cittern (an instrument he designed) in what is fondly called the “Weird Instrument Division.” In addition to Forest Green, he performs solo (mainly improvisational piano) and on a variety of instruments in several ensembles. Outside of music, he is coordinator for the computer labs at Free State High School.

Connie Dover - Connie has been a guest on NPR's Weekend Edition, A Prairie Home Companion, Thistle and Shamrock, Mountain Stage and E-Town, and she has recorded for Narada, Sony, BMG, Virgin, EMI, Rounder and Taylor Park Music record labels. She is a recipient of the “Speakeasy Prize in Poetry,” an international award sponsored by America’s largest independent literary center. A collection of her poems, Winter Count, will be published this spring. When not performing or recording, she works as a cook on a Wyoming cattle ranch. “Just occasionally, a voice arrives on the folk scene that is so pure, so beautiful, so magical, that it tells you: this is how to sing a song. Such a voice has Connie Dover.” - The Scotsman (Scotland’s national newspaper)

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Our Sponsors

Brits in downtown Lawrence,
The Community Merc at 9th and Iowa
Jeff Eubanks - jeweler
Mass Street Music - 14th and Massachusetts

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"Lawrence Scottish Fest" was previously called the Lawrence "Robert Burns Celebration." The change in name reflects a more accurate emphasis on music with some Burns poetry & Scottish food, rather than the other way around. HERE is a short history of the festival.

See www.LawrenceScots.Org for information about Celtic music sessions, festivals, radio programs, societies, music venues, and similar resources in the Lawrence, Topeka, Atchison and Kansas City area.

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Lawrence Scottish Fest is another "Lawrence Old Guard" Production

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