The music was loud, the cheeks were rosy and the spirit of Scottish poet Robert Burns was alive and well at the Wylie-Mitchell Hall in Estevan.
The 37th Burns Night, sponsored by the 2901 Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Elks Army Cadet Corps in Estevan provided hundreds of Estevanites with plenty of food and entertainment.
“I look forward to this every,” said Troy LeBlanc, president of the Estevan Royal Legion. “It’s a tradition where I get a little bit of taste of home.”
The PPCLI Pipes and Drums once again delivered the bagpipes and drums, but for the first time, the Kilted Wind Pipe Band, which consists of former army cadet members, accompanied them.
“They were quite fired up,” said retired Capt. Robert Rooks, who was the night’s Master of Ceremonies.
Rooks reminisced about the first Burns night in 1977 and acknowledged the exponential growth of the event.
“It’s become more of a family night out,” he said, adding it’s an ideal event for the pipers to prepare for during an otherwise quiet section of the year.
“It’s a perfect event for the middle of winter,” Rooks said.
The Drewitz School of Dance, under the direction of Lorie-Gay Drewitz Gallaway performed several times for the packed facility and was met with a round of applause each time.
Following the ceremonial procedures that kick started the event, the Estevan Elks, represented by Ray Walton, presented the cadets with a cheque for $3,000.
Dyana Wright read the Immortal Memories of Robert Burns, noting how in Russia, he was also known as the “People’s Poet.”
“His voyage in life was a grand one,” she said.
