Countdown: Burns 2009

Countdown: Burns 2009

2009 was an exciting year! The 250th anniversary of Robert Burns's birth on the 25th of January prompted a great deal of exciting new research to be disseminated in new publications and at conferences worldwide, as well as numerous events celebrating Burns's life, his poetry and his song.

Below is a calender of events leading up to and including Burns 2009.

  • 7th Nov 2008 - 1st Feb 2009: 'Zig-Zag: The Paths of Robert Burns, Exhibition, The National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland
  • 6th December 2008: Language and Literature in the Time of Robert Burns, FRLSU Conference, A.K. Bell Memorial Library, Perth, Scotland

          FRLSU Conference, December 2008, Info and Registration

  • 6-8th January 2009: Writing Burns' Life, Reading Burns' Work, British Society for Eighteenth Century Studies Conference, Oxford, England
  • 14-17th January 2009: Robert Burns 1759 - 2009, Centre for Robert Burns Studies Conference, Glasgow, Scotland
  • Robert Burns commemorative stamps have been released by Royal Mail to mark the 250th anniversary of Robert Burns's Birth, January 2009.16th January 2009: Robert Burns 250 Commemorative Stamp released. A £2 Burns Coin released about this time. 'Should Auld Acquaintance' on the edge; design featuring 'We'll tak a cup a kindness yet 1759 Robert Burns 1796';
  • 17th January 2009: Edmonton Robert Burns Day; Nevada City Burns Supper and Ceilidh, United States of America
  • 18th January 2009: Third Saltire Burns Lunch, with Environment Minister Mike Russell MSP, Dumfries, Scotland; Burns Dinner, Guelph Civic Museum
  • 19th January 2009: Weller's Hill Queensland Burns Supper
  • 20th January 2009: Burns Day, Guelph; Burns Dinner, Auburn, California
  • 21st January 2009: Robbie Burns Curling Bonspiel, Lindsay, Ontario, Canada; St Andrew Society of Tampa Bay, Florida unveils Burns Bust at John F. Germany Library, Tamps Bay, Florida
  • 'Robert Burns 1759-2009' delegates gather at Oran Mor in Glasgow for an evening celebration of Robert Burns's folk song. Scottish singer Sheena Wellington performed 'The Merry Muses of Caledonia' and folk group Stramash delighted the audience with a rarely seen performance of 'The Jolly Beggars'.22nd January 2009: Vancouver Island Burns Supper
  • 23rd January 2009: Burns Night Aboard HMS Warrior, Portsmouth, England
  • 23-30th January 2009: National Burns Collection Touring Exhibition, Edinburgh, Scotland
  • 24th January 2009: Scottish Society of Santa Barbara Burns Supper; BP Norway Burns Supper; Children 1st Burns Reloaded, Edinburgh; Burns Night at the Cutlers' Hall, Sheffield; Annual Burns Supper Charity Banquet, Harvey's Point, Donegal; Burns Belter, Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh; Burns Dinner, Belgravia, SW1; "'A Man's a Man': From Burns to Buffalo Bill', Caroline McCracken-Flescher, University of Wyoming Casper College Burns Supper, Nicolaysen Art Museum, Wyoming
  • 24-25th January 2009: Burns Anniversary Weekend, Homecoming Scotland; Tribute to Scottish Dogs and Robert Burns, Toronto
  • 25th January 2009: Wreath laying at Embankment and Westminster Abbey, Robert Burns Club of London, England
  • Gung Haggis Fat Choy: Toddish McWong's Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner, Vancouver25th January 2009: Jamaican Burns Night, Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow (Celtic Connections); Release of The Bard; Scots of Victoria Burns Celebration, Melbourne, Australia; Burns Light, Dumfries; ; Winnipeg Burns Club Supper; Sydney Burns Night; Montpellier Burns Supper; Burns in Viladrau, Spain; Traditional Scottish Burns Supper, Hermanus Golf Club, Hermanus, Western Cape; Burns Supper, Perth, Western Australia; Toddish McWong's Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner, Vancouver
  • 26th January 2009: The Highland Heritage Society of Buenos Aires and Scotland in Argentina, Burns Supper; Quebec City Burns Night; Memphis, Tennessee, Burns Nicht; Oslo Burns Supper; Barcelona City Burns Supper with the City of Barcelona Pipe Band; St Andrews Society Russian Burns Supper, Moscow; BIFM Burns Supper, Goldsmiths' Hall, London
  • 27th January 2009: Burns Night, Geneva; Celebration of Burns, Loughborough Town Hall
  • 29th January 2009: Brussels Burns/Preseren Supper in honour of the Slovene EU Presidency, with Minister for Culture Linda Fabiani MSP
  • 30th January 2009: Costa Rica Burns Supper, Costa Rica Country Club, Costa Rica
  • 31st January 2009: Scottish Heritage Society Burns Dinner, Bridgeport, West Virginia; Royal Scottish Country Dance Society Burns Supper, Birmingham
  • January 2009: Robert Burns and the Poetic Image, Exhibition at L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University (to January 2010); British Embassy Burns Night, Ecuador
  • The Creative Burns exhibition is on at the Dick Institute, Kilmarnock, until 16th May.1st February 2009: Utah Scottish Association Burns Supper, United States of America; Burns Commemoration, Adelaide, Australia
  • 2nd February 2009: Burns Supper in Belgrade, hosted by the British Ambassador; 45th Annual Burns Supper Dance, Rhode Island; 58th Annual Burns Club of Melbourne Burns Supper
  • 7th February 2009: Scots of Victoria Burns Supper
  • 8th February 2009: Robert Burns Club of Milwaukee Supper
  • 14th Feb - 16th May 2009: Creative Burns Exhibition, Dick Institute, Kilmarnock, Scotland
  • 28th February 2009: Burns' Language: Then and Now, ASLS Language Commitee Annual Seminar, Glasgow, Scotland
  • 2nd March, The William Will Memorial Lecture: Murray Pittock, 'Robert Burns and Global Culture'. Hosted by the Burns Club of London.2nd March 2009: William Will Memorial Lecture: Murray Pittock, 'Robert Burns and Global Culture'. Hosted by Andrew Mitchell MP, Shadow Secretary of State for International Development, and London Burns Club.

    William Will Memorial Lecture: Registration Form
  • 12th March 2009: 'Robert Burns, Surrealist', Lecture by Matt Wickman, Harvard University
  • 18th March 2009: 'Sex and the Poet', The Stanza Poetry Festival, St Andrews
  • 25-27th March 2009: Burns and the Poets, Somerville College, Oxford, England

          Burns and the Poets: Conference Notice 
          Burns and the Poets: Registration Form

  • 29th March 2009: Mauchline Ploughing Match, Mauchline, Scotland
  • 31st Mar - 4th April 2009: Mitchell Library's 'Auld Lang Syne' manuscript on show at Grolier Club, New York, United States of America
  • 2-4th April 2009: 'Robert Burns at 250: Contemporaries, Contexts and Cultural Forms' conference, University of South Carolina, Columbia SC, United States of America

         Please click here for the 'Robert Burns at 250' conference website and further information.

  • 6th April 2009: 'Robert Burns in Global Culture' lecture, Brigham Young University, Utah
  • 8-10th April 2009: 'Transatlantic Burns', Supported by Canadian Arts and Social Sciences Council, Vancouver, Canada

         Please click here for the 'Transatlantic Burns' conference website and further information.

  • 25th July 2009: 'Doon Hame with Robert Burns', Crichton Campus, University of Glasgow, Dumfries
  • 23rd-26th July 2009: 'Robert Burns 1759-2009: edition, reception, circulation', British Association for Romantic Studies Conference, London
  • The Burns Mausoleum in St Michael's churchyard, Dumfries, where Robert Burns and his wife Jean Armour are buried.25th July 2009: Doon Hame with Robert Burns Conference, Crichton Campus, University of Glasgow, Dumfries
  • 4-6th September 2009: Burns World Federation Conference, Edinburgh, Scotland