2026 Tartan Day Celebrations

[jsrnephdoc]

Last April I combined several objectives in one trip from Montana to NYC. I visited my son in Queens, and the two of us attended the Tartan Day parade. I learned several things watching the bands prep in Bryant Park:

1. These must be good times in Scotland, because several impressive (competitive) bands made the trip to NYC.
2. The schools (or some of them) must be well funded. I was VERY impressed, for example by a high school band from Glasgow. MY only high school trip 65 years ago was 25 miles north to experience a "trip" on a passenger train back to my tiny Upper Michigan birthplace. In this ensemble, the kids made good music while kilted assistants ran around tuning their drones with an Apple iOS frequency-analyzing app with iPhones held just above the drones!
3. The parade itself made the trip worthwhile, but it's always fun to visit NYC. One surprise came from visiting a Brooks Brothers store—when I was a youngster I LOVED to dream while looking at the New Yorker full page ads from Bentley, Rolls Royce, Brooks Brothers, (and Ballantine Beer and Volkswagen). I learned somewhere recently that Brooks Brothers had its own registered tartan. In the store, I asked to see something created from it; the clerk responded that he had NO idea what I was talking about, because the store was living on a name that had been sold multiple times just in the last decade.

But, for a guy whose earliest musical memories emanating from my parents' record player (Harry Lauder, the Black Watch, et. al. rather than Elvis and other early Rockers),the parade itself was a treat. This year's will have "Jamie Fraser's" doppelgänger (Sam Heughan) as the Grand Master, and he'll be wearing a new tartan designed just for the event by Geoffrey (Tailor) Kitlmakers (whose shop is on the Royal Mile). One of the current principals of that firm claims to have invented the "21st Century Kilt." I certainly hope that "Jamie" will not be wearing one of them for the occasion. Here's an example, from their website (others are available, and to me they look even uglier, and less practical, to boot):

This one sports essentially inaccessible pockets on the back as well.

But, if you click the right link, you'll learn that many people famous for being famous don't agree with me. And, you'll discover that Sir Richard Branson doesn't dress "regimental."

[Jock Scot]

Each to their own. On the other hand, if I was actually asked what I thought of the outfit .......................

[Canadian Vet]

What is "Tartan Day"?

[cessna152towser]

"Tartan Day", is apparently some sort of event when North Americans of Scottish Heritage dress up in kilts etc and hold a parade in New York, USA.
Usually held in early April.
Sorry, but as a Scot living in Scotland I have no personal interest in it, but photos of the event from our North American friends are always welcome here on the forum.

[DCampbell16B]

I believe the biggest parade is in NYC. However, there are other events of which the diaspora partake.

[Canadian Vet]

"Tartan Day", is apparently some sort of event when North Americans of Scottish Heritage dress up in kilts etc and hold a parade in New York, USA.
Usually held in early April.
Sorry, but as a Scot living in Scotland I have no personal interest in it, but photos of the event from our North American friends are always welcome here on the forum.

..., Americans, not North Americans.
Canadians don't have a Tartan day and a whole lot of us are of Scottish extraction.
I'm an old guy entering my 8th decade and it is new to me.

[geomick]

..., Americans, not North Americans.
Canadians don't have a Tartan day and a whole lot of us are of Scottish extraction.
I'm an old guy entering my 8th decade and it is new to me.

looks like Nova Scotia introduced Tartan Day to Canada in 1987. It spread to Ontario in 1991 before covering all of Canada.

https://www.tartanvibesclothing.com/...-day-in-canada

[Liam]

What is "Tartan Day"?

National Tartan Day in Canada is April 6. I will leave it to you to do a google search yourself to discover more.
😉

[OC Richard]

What is "Tartan Day"?

I had to look it up myself. I'd heard of the New York Tartan Day Parade in recent years, but beyond that I didn't know.

Wiki says:

Tartan Day is a celebration of Scottish heritage which originated in Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1987.

It is celebrated in Canada (since 1987, officially and nationally since 2010), the United States (since 1997, with increasing recognition in 1998, 2005, and 2008 as National Tartan Day), and Argentina (unofficially from 2006).

The same date (April 6) is used for locally official Tartan Days in Aberdeen and Angus, Scotland (from 2004).

Tartan Day has expanded into an entire Tartan Week in New York City and Angus, and into multi-day events in some other locations, including Washington, DC.

In the home to the town of Arbroath the day is increasingly renamed Declaration Day, since 2016...

International Tartan Day is held in various states of Australia (from 1989) and in New Zealand (since 2008) on July 1, the anniversary of the 1782 repeal of the Dress Act 1746...

Not surprising that New York would take the thing and run with it.

After all, New York City has had a St Patricks Day Parade since the 1760s, but Dublin Ireland only got a St Patricks Day parade with floats etc in the 1960s. (From the 1920s Dublin had had a military parade on St Patricks Day.)