Represented within the new tartan is the Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue, Manhattan) host to the annual Tartan Day Parade.  The colours of three important flags are represented in the asymmetric design: the blue, white and orange of New York city’s own flag; the red, white and blue of the Star Spangled Banner; and the blue and white of the Scottish Saltire. The design and the first fabric woven were donated by the Scottish Tartans Authority in appreciation of the long-serving volunteers who make this annual event possible. The registration in the Scottish Register of Tartans was donated by the National Records of Scotland.

Don’t miss the six times World Championship winning Simon Fraser University Pipe Band perform at the Lincoln Center on May 4th 2012.

More info and booking links

Andrew Ladd from Edinburgh has made it to the quarter finals of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award for 2012. Andrew, who presently resides in New York as a free lance writer, wrote the novel What Ends as part of his thesis at university. An extraordinary achievement for the young writer who has been shortlisted from 10,000 applicants. A griping story with impressive reviews, the story synopsis follows:

On a map, the hundred or so islands that make up the Hebrides look like a paint splatter off Scotland’s west coast; in life, they’re a sad testament, in their quiet beaches and empty villages, to the dozens of unique communities that in recent decades have struggled against extinction. Eilean FÌÂor, one such community, is the setting for What Ends.In late 1980 the McCloud family welcomes Trevor, their third child and the last who will be born on Eilean FÌÂor. Life there, on the eve of Trevor’s birth, is grim: the population, once in the hundreds, now hovers around thirty; his parents stubbornly maintain the family business, a guesthouse, despite their increasing trouble turning a profit; and a plague of rats threatens to wipe out the island’s last remaining hopes. Against this backdrop, and through a series of interlocking narratives spanning from Trevor’s birth to the present day, What Ends follows each of the McClouds as they navigate their ever-more fragile lives. Trevor’s brother, Barry, tortured by adolescent lust and ill-prepared for life beyond his home, is sent to a mainland boarding school, where he must choose between the values of his upbringing and a life of delinquency. Trevor’s sister, Flora, tries to reconcile the responsibility she feels towards her parents with her dream of becoming an artist. His mother, Maureen, resolves to salvage a single, tiny piece of happiness from a lifetime of failed opportunities, and Trevor himself watches powerless with his father, George, as the place they love falls to pieces all around them.What Ends has a broad range of appeal, from a unique and seldom-explored setting, to an unusual perspective on the pressures of modern society—and above all, a detailed, emotional portrait of the problems and pleasures common to families everywhere.

To read the full story, the novel, What Ends is available on any device that supports Kindle

Link to Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/What-Ends-2012-Entry-ebook/dp/B007GEJ9S2/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1334917395&sr=1-2

Link to Andrew’s blog:
http://hotscot.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/in-which-author-asks-for-your-support.html

Thanks to all who took part in a wonderful Parade on Saturday, April 14 - in splendid weather!  Our Grand Marshal, Scottish Government, pipers, drummers, societies, organizations, committee, volunteers, supporters, sponsors and thousands of spectators all played their part and contributed to a wonderful day out for all.  And Scotland!

See many more pictures on our Facebook page already. Roll on 2013!

Parade Route:  45th street to 55th street, Sixth Avenue (Avenue of the Americas).
Formation areas: 44th Street and 45th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues
Form-up Time: 12:30pm
Parade Start: 2:00pm

Section 1:

• NYPD Mounted Unit (Forms on 6th Avenue above 45th St.)
• USMA (West Point) Pipes and Drums 16
• Grand Marshal Banner
• 2012 Grand Marshal BRIAN COX (with family) unk
• Brian Winton w/NYC Tartan Day Banner
• VIPs: Clan Chief of Sinclair: Earl of Caithness unk
• Scottish Parliament/Scottish Government
• U.S. Politicians; Dodge Landesman
• Mt. Kisco Scottish Pipes and Drums 18
• St. Andrew’s Society – NYC 40

Section 2:

• New York Scottish Pipes and Drums 10
• New York Caledonian Society 75
• New York Metro Pipe Band 25
• American Scottish Foundation 40
• Nordoff/Robinson Music Therapy 8
• National Tartan Day Committee
• Atlantic Watch Pipes and Drums 30
• Mountbatten Institute 50
• Calgary Police Service Pipe Band (inc. dancers) 32
• Edinburgh Napier University School/Alumni 20

Section 3:

• USNA (U.S. Navy) Pipes and Drums 31
• Daughters of Scotia 20
• Friends of Finlayson & Haskell 15
• NYU Pipes and Drums 18
• Scots Charitable of Boston 10
• Stephen P. Driscoll Memorial P/Band 25
• Park Avenue Christian Church 10
• Forest Legion Pipe Band 18
• Clan McLeod Society USA 21
• Clan MacBean/Chattan Confederation 4
• BAXTER BEAR 2

Section 4:

• TUNES OF GLORY Massed Pipes and Drums 75
• Scots American Club (Kearny, NJ) unk
• Quaboag Highland Pipes and Drums 15
• Blended Scots Organization 25
• Tri-County Pipes and Drums 23
• NESSIE and Friends 5
• Armstrong Clan Society 8
• Clan Malcolm-MacCullam 6
• Kyle Family Society 8

Section 5:

• Hudson Highlanders Pipe Band 22
• Carnegie Mellon Alumni 25
• Shot of Scotch Dancers 3
• MacIneirghe 10
• Pentland Caledonian Pipes and Drums 6
• Clan Donnachaidh Society 15
• ALL Dogs and Escorts 183

END OF WEST 44th STREET – FIRST DIVISION

SECOND DIVISION: West 45th Street from 6th Avenue to 5th Avenues:

Section 1:

• Middlesex County Police/Fire Pipes & Drums 20
• Clan Buchanan Society International 25
• Clan MacFarlane 15
• Deepak Jain Dancers 30
• ScotchCap Society 20
• Gothenburg Garrison (Sweden) 3
• Mid-Atlantic Scots4Tots Color Guard 20

Section 2:

• Bonnie Brae Knights Pipes and Drumline 28
• Murray of Atholl Supporters 7
• Dutchess County Scottish Society 20
• East of Scotland Tartan Army/NYC 5
• Clan Ross of USA 10
• Isle of Bute 8
• NY Dept. of Corrections Pipe Band 8
• Friends of Laphroaig 50
• SCOCHA!!! Music Group with
• SCOCHA Supporters 13

Section 3:

• Gordon Highlanders of Locust Valley P/Band 30
• Long Island Scottish American Society 20
• Clan Gordon 5
• 42nd Regiment Highland Foot (reenactors) 10
• SOMERSET HIGHLANDERS OF SOMERSET COUNTY
• HORSES (Stage at 6th Avenue and 43rd Street) 6
• NOTE: MUST HAVE TRAILERS WITH HORSES AT 43RD
• STREET AND 6TH AVENUE BEFORE 1:30 pm.

Section 4:

• Shamrock & Thistle Pipes and Drums 34
• CABER Team unk
• Clan Graham 5
• NH Highland Games 8
• Brian Boru Pipes and Drums 22
• Abbotsford Trust 2
• NYC Volunteer Firefighters Pipe Band 10
• Voices Over The Water unk
• NY Lyric Circus 7
• New York Celtic Dancers 7
• Parade Workers/Volunteers

END OF SECOND DIVISION – END OF PARADE

Its idea is a simple one that works. The Scottish-based charity provides one daily meal in a place of education in order to attract chronically poor children into a classroom where they can gain an education that can, in the future, be their ladder out of poverty.

Mary’s Meals began by feeding 200 children in Malawi. Today, it feeds over 600,000 hungry children in 16 different countries across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe and South America.

The charity consists of, respects, and reaches out to people of all faiths and none.
The average worldwide cost for the charity to feed a child for a whole school year is just $16.80. The charity works hard to keep its running costs low and to ensure that at least 93 cents of every $1 donated goes on its charitable work. This is only made possible as much of its work is done by volunteers. Wherever possible, Mary’s Meals uses locally grown food to support the local economy.

Mary’s Meals is a US tax exempt charity which has an office in New Jersey. Its founder Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow was named one of 2010’s Top Ten Heroes by broadcaster CNN.
The charity’s vision is that every child receives one daily meal in their place of education.

For further information, please visit www.marysmeals.org

Presented by the American-Scottish Foundation® in association with Creative Scotland and Nordoff-Robbins, Song of Return will be performing with Scotland’s Phamie Gow

Wednesday, April 11
Joe’s Pub – The Public Theatre
425 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10003
Tickets $15. Book here: www.joespub.com
9:30pm Phamie Gow
10:20pm Song of Return
(note: dining and drinks)

A donation from ticket sales for this event will be donated to Nordoff Robbins Scotland for their ongoing work in music therapy. To find out more and donate, please click here. 

VIP PRE-SHOW EVENT – BUTTER

Combination Tickets for a VIP Pre-Show Event at Butter Restaurant and Joe’s Pub are available. Meet the artists! Call the ASF office at 212-605 0338 x4.