The Celtic Option

Spring has been trying to nudge out winter, but old Winter has been putting up a fight.  Saturday it broke even with bright sunshine and cold wind.  Not all we were hoping for, but too nice to miss.  We donned our jackets and later wished we had brought scarves and gloves.

We found two options for this Saturday.  One:  National Tartan Day Celebration.  Two: International Pillow Fight Day.

We chose to start the day with the Scottish parade on 6th Avenue.  Parade barriers were up, and spectators filled the sidewalks the length of the route.

New York City will have a parade or a festival at any place or any time for any reason.  Tartan Day celebrates Scotland signing its Declaration of Independence in 1320.

Bands of bagpipers dressed in kilts made of their native tartans marched down the Avenue.  There is something about a marching bagpipe player that looks and sounds majestic.  The kilts, jackets, caps and boots fit the scene of this day.  The music from the bagpipes sounded good to these old rock-and-roll ears.

The Highland Dancers would stop from time to time to treat the crowd with samples of their Scottish dances.

The NYPD Marching Band was there.  Instead of traditional Scottish bagpipe tunes, the NYPD offered America, the Beautiful.  It sounded more like the 7th inning of a baseball game than a Scottish parade in New York City.

Our Saturday started off with an awesome parade.  Down south there was a pillow fight scheduled.