175 years ago today, our founding members gathered to celebrate Saint Andrew’s Day and founded our Society. They built it for all of us and we know they would be so thrilled to see all of you tuning in across the United States and Scotland to celebrate together as a community. Thank you for being here. You are what makes us proud to be the Chicago Scots.

We would love to see and share photos of everyone celebrating at home. Share on social media using #operationvirtualhaggis or send to info@chicagoscots.org.

Watch the Show

The show can be viewed right from this page using the video player below or you can watch on our Facebook page in order to comment.

Event Program

#SCOTLANDISNOW

Scots around the world and those Scottish by inclination are celebrating St Andrew’s Day today.

Visit Scotland in collaboration with the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and Universities Scotland have created this special message for everyone celebrating which captures the Scottish values that we share.

Interested in learning more about Saint Andrew, Patron Saint of Scotland? 

Please visit https://www.scotland.org/events/st-andrews-day

Gus Noble was recently interview for #SCOTLANDISNOW. View the full article here.

Highland Dancing

Enjoy a special Highland Dancing performance from Thistle and Heather.

Auld Lang Syne

Enjoy two of our favourite versions of Auld Lang Syne. We’ll be singing along to a special performance of it by Rachel Barton Pine tonight!

Mairi Campbell

Paolo Nutini – Listen to highlights from Auld Lang Syne and Nutini tell BBC FOUR about the version he likes best.

Awards

We are proud to honor the best qualities of the Scots with two special awards.

Peter Georgeson

Distinguished Citizen Award

Our Distinguished Citizen Award is the highest honor we bestow. In recognition for all he does for our community, especially the Scottish Home, we are proud to announce that the 2020 recipient of our Distinguished Citizen award will be the legendary owner of Scot Forge and one of the most generous donors we have known, Peter Georgeson.

View Peter’s Bio

Jackie Kay

The Makar’s Medal

We will also inaugurate a new award, the Makar’s Medal, which will be presented every five years to the Poet Laureate, the Makar of Scotland. The Makar’s Medal will celebrate the enduring resonance and relevance of Scottish identity; our cultural heritage, our contemporary place in the world, and what being Scottish will mean to the generations to come. The first recipient is critically-acclaimed poet, playwright and novelist Jackie Kay.

View Jackie’s Bio

Sponsors

Thank you to the generous sponsors of the Virtual St. Andrew’s Day Gala “Feast of the Haggis”.