LAC LA BICHE - Every year, people around the world gather to celebrate the legacy of iconic Scottish bard, poet and lyricist Robert Burns during Robbie Burns Day.
For the past five years, Lac La Biche County resident Molly Fyten has helped organize the local celebration to honour Burns, who lived from 1759-1796 and penned well-known poems and songs like as “Auld Lang Syne,” which is traditionally sung on New Year’s Eve, “A Red, Red Rose,” and “A Man’s a Man for A’ That.”
This year’s Robbie Burns Dinner and Celebration is taking place on March 8 at the Royal Canadian Legion, McGrane Branch #28 in Lac La Biche. The 2025 edition of the event will get underway with cocktails at 5:30 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 p.m. This will be followed by a traditional Burns’ celebration.
Robbie Burns Day is often celebrated on Jan. 25 to coincide with the birthday of the world-famous Scottish poet. However, over the past few years, the Lac La Biche event has been held in March instead of January.
Fyten explained the reason for this.
“This weekend has become our annual date in Lac La Biche as it is a weekend that doesn’t compete with any major community events,” she told Lakeland This Week.
The upcoming tribute to Robbie Burns will be an exciting, uniquely cultural evening featuring traditional Scottish food, drinks, bag pipes, and Celtic performances with honourary guests, fun presentations, and plenty of laughs.
“It really is a culturally unique experience like nothing else in this community. You do not need to be Scottish to attend, and all cultures will thoroughly enjoy this event,” Fyten said.
Those who attend the Robbie Burns event will be able to enjoy a fully catered, traditional Scottish roast beef dinner. According to Fyten, the meal of the evening will be served after the haggis has been piped in and the ‘Address to the Haggis’ has been performed.
Each year, Fyten pipes in the haggis while her mother, Ruth Fyten, is the haggis bearer, bringing the national dish of Scotland - a type of pudding that is traditionally made from the liver, heart, and lungs of a sheep – in on a silver platter.
An ode to the national poet of Scotland wouldn’t be the same without a Scotsman providing the ‘Address to the Haggis.’ Angus Campbell, originally from Scotland but who has called Canada home for the past several decades, will once again be driving from Fort McMurray to give the address, and provide traditional bagpipe entertainment.
“Angus has been my piping instructor for the past several years and he was my inspiration for getting this annual event introduced to Lac La Biche,” Fyten said.
She explained that the event will also have a full table of honourary guests who will provide toasts and other fun speeches. Dignitaries from the community have also been invited to join in the festivities.
A popular highlight of the annual Robbie Burns evening of celebration is the ‘Toast to the Lassies,’ and the corresponding reply to this toast.
“The Toast to the Lassies is a humorous, witty toast honoring the female sex, and the reply is just that,” she explained.
The Robbie Burns Day event has been growing in popularity each year.
“It’s a place where the past and the present come together and create a celebration that resonates with the spirit of Scotland,” said Fyten.
Tickets for the 2025 Robbie Burns Dinner are $40 each and can be purchased in advance through the McGrane #28 branch of the Royal Canadian Legion by calling (780) 623-4334, or by contacting Molly Fyten at (780) 404-7740. According to Fyten, for those who purchase a group of six tickets or more, people will receive one free ticket, and an option to reserve a table.
Proceeds from the night go to the Lac La Biche McGrane Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion.
