Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Archive

Kent welcomes a taste of the Highlands

Advertisement

KENT—The Highlands of Scotland recently visited the Housatonic Highlands when the Chamber of Commerce and 45 on Main Coffee, Chocolate and Creamery joined forces to present a Robert Burns Supper.

The evening was the inspiration of Gary Kidd, co-proprietor of 45 on Main. A native of Glasgow, Scotland, he brought his country’s mid-winter fete to these shores, inspiring residents of Northwest Connecticut to dig kilts out of closets and to flood into the Kent Community House for an evening of “haggis, neeps and tatties,” a tasting of fine Scottish liquors, and round and after round of energetic dancing.

“We were cleared for 130 people in this room, and we sold 160 tickets,” said an exultant Kidd as his guests began to pour in even before the official 7 p.m. start to the evening. “In the last couple of days, I must have had another 100 calls from people wanting tickets, but we were sold out.”

Robert Mellis, who read Robert Burns’ “Address to a Haggis” during the Robert Burns Scottish Night Jan. 27 at the Kent Community House, cuts into a haggis flown in from Scotland for the event. Photo by Kathryn Boughton.

The evening was part of the Chamber of Commerce’s CommUNITY effort, which is designed to lure people away from their televisions and devices to enjoy the company of their neighbors. Denizens of the town mingled readily in a buzz of conversation as the room filled. 

Kidd, dressed nattily in his own kilt and Argyll jacket, and Chamber Vice President Ellen Corsell, greeted their guests from the front of the hall. Corsell slowly and carefully enunciated everything that Kidd said, explaining that she was there to translate his pronounced Glaswegian accent.

And then, suddenly, it was time for the main event. A haggis, the national dish of Scotland consisting of a boiled sheep’s stomach stuffed with chopped meat, onion, oatmeal, spices and suet, was ceremoniously piped into the room by bagpiper Jesse Ofgang, followed by a tartan-clad Robert Mellis.

Mellis, himself a Scot, was dressed in the kilt that had belong to his grandfather during World War I. He read Burns’ “Address to a Haggis” before plunging a large knife into the dish to reveal its creamy center.

Bagpiper Jesse Ofgang provided the musical backdrop for the Robert Burns Supper Jan. 27. Photo by Kathryn Boughton

Following the dinner, guests were summoned to the floor to take part in three vigorous ceilidh dances, with Kidd acting as instructor. “Forward one, two, three; back one, two, three—and dancey, dancey, dancey,” he called out. 

At first, as the music of the pipes and bodhrán picked up speed, the dancers looked like they were playing bumper cars, but soon all smoothed out and couples progressed gracefully around the floor in a large circle.

Dancing was followed by spirited readings of Burns’ poetry before people began to find their way out into the cold winter evening.

Kidd said this week that the event proved so popular that there is a clamor for a St. Patrick’s Day event.

Kathryn Boughton
Written By

Kathryn Boughton has been editor of the Kent Dispatch since its digital reincarnation in October 2023 as a nonprofit online publication. A native of Canaan, Conn., Kathryn has been a regional journalist for more than 50 years, having been employed by both the Lakeville Journal and Litchfield County Times as managing editor. While with the LCT, she was also editor of the former print Kent Good Times Dispatch from 2005 until 2009.

Subscribe

* indicates required
Sign up to receive email updates each week.
Opt In *
Click to consent to receive emails with news & updates.

Upcoming Events

You May Also Like

Sports

KENT—The 40th annual Lake Waramaug Polar Bear Run to benefit Guiding Eyes for the Blind is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 23, at 11 a.m....

Featured

KENT, Conn.—A gold waxing crescent moon paired with a stunning Venus in the dark sky shone bright over town the first night of the...

Local

First Congregational Church of Kent: 97 N. Main St., Kent. 860-927-3335. www.firstchurchkent.org. Services: Sundays, 10 a.m. (traditional worship). St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church: 1 N....

Local

KENT—The following property transfers were recorded by the Town Clerk during the month of January 2025. Gregory and Judith Sheridan to John Merz and...

Arts & Entertainment

SHERMAN, Conn.—The Sherman Library, 1 Sherman Center, will present paintings by Doreen O’Connor in a show, “For the Love of Flowers,” from Feb. 21...

Featured

FALLS VILLAGE, Conn.—Superintendent of Schools Melony Brady-Shanley told the Region 1 School Board Monday night, Feb. 3, that there is concern among educators about...

Featured

AFTER-THE-FACT PERMIT GRANTED KENT, Conn.—The Historic District Commission met with Kent Historical Society curator Marge Smith Monday night to discuss an after-the-fact application to...

Local

KENT—The Kent Community Nursery School’s board of directors will present a Winter Snow Ball on Saturday, March 1, from 7 to 10 p.m. at...