Robbie Burns Dinner
What do a restaurant, a brewery and a nonprofit have in common? Here in Eureka, the answer is a Robert Burns Dinner! Four Corners Restaurant, HA) Brewery and Sunburst Community Service Foundation have joined forces to put on a birthday tribute to Robert Burns with everything one might expect including bagpipers and haggis.
The idea for the event started with Deb and Glenn Alexander, owners of Four Corners Restaurant, and Kerry and Jim Finley. They thought putting on a dinner like this in January had great potential so they contacted Sunburst to see if the nonprofit would like to collaborate.
A portion of the ticket sales will be given to Sunburst for community programs in the Tobacco Valley. And then because it seemed like it made utter sense, they contacted the owners of HA) Brewery to see if they would like to be involved as well. Plans took shape and now there is a four-course dinner, beer tasting, haggis, bagpipers from the Montana Highland Pipe Band and of course all sorts of toasts and rousing recitations that will be part of the evening on Saturday, January 23. Initial ticket sales went so well that the Alexanders decided to use the entire restaurant for the event that evening which begins at 6:00 pm. Tickets are selling quickly so if you are interested, get yours soon from Sunburst (297-0197) as all tickets need to be purchased in advance.
The very first Robert Burns Dinner was held in Scotland in 1801 by nine friends to commemorate Burns five years after his death. Since then the ritual has spread to all corners of the world. There is no central body that writes rules, organizes the speakers, or sets the tone but there are customs which have developed over the centuries.
About the Author: Rita Collins. I am a believer in the power of community and for now I call the Tobacco Valley home. I have lived in nine states and three counties and this community here amazes me - how people reach out to neighbors and even travelers. I've never lived in a place that demonstrates people caring for each other so well. And I've never lived in a place that has such a high percentage of talented musicians and artists. I work with the the Sunburst Community Service Foundation, a nonprofit that began in Eureka twenty years ago and now serves numerous communities in western Montana. And I just started a new business, St. Rita's Amazing Traveling Bookstore and Textual Apothecary. I never could have imagined life being this exciting in my sixth decade.
