A week long celebration known as Tartan Week ends with a fun and lively parade up 6th Avenue from 44th to 55th streets. All things Scottish are celebrated with groups of Scottish ancestry making their way up the parade route for the 25th anniversary of the Tartan Day Parade. This year the great honor of being selected as Grand Marshall was famed actor Dougray Scott. He enjoyed every minute of the 2 hour event as marching groups stopped by his designated viewing area on 55th St. and put on a performance. One of the best parts of this parade is when groups from Scotland put on a show for the crowd. One of the first groups from Scotland was the Robert Gordon College Pipes and Drum Marching Band. They were excellent.
A crowd favorite is when Scottish Dancers stop and dance for the onlookers. That’s always a lot of fun to watch. Another crowd pleaser with their dazzling yellow and black tartans are the Shamrock and Thistle Pipes and Drum Marching Band from Ocean County, NJ. Many other groups representing Scottish culture made their way onto the parade route. One that always brings smiles to peoples faces is when the hounds bring their owners to the parade. Westies, Collies and even Scottish Deerhounds were among the breeds present for the grand event. In this parade, many of the family clans present their colors to the crowd. It really is a beautiful part of the parade.
A group that comes from Kearny NJ always gets the crowd worked up. The Jock Nisbet Memorial Group has musicians from different groups that merged together to make this phenomenal group. A newcomer to this parade were the Naval Academy Cadets. They were really good. However, the headline group that hails from Merchiston, Edinburgh played their hearts out. A side story was that the father of one of the musicians flew the plane that brought the band to NYC. Cool Dad. Closing out the fun parade were the Vikings group raising axes and angst all along the parade route. It truly is a fun parade to attend even if you’re not Scottish.
NYC Parade Life 