One hundred thousand welcomes..

Well we  are all ready for the Clan Gathering in Holyrood park in Edinburgh in July.12 and maybe 14 of us will make the trip.

Its exciting stuff and already Clan Wallace NZ are planning another trip, this time to North Carolina and the grandfather Mountain Highland Games of 2010, and maybe we can catch up with a Wallace Clan gathering along the way.

STOP PRESS

we might even have this trip first to the Triad Highland games in North Carolina.

Waipu and my home town of Inverness and also Greensboro in USA are all twinned AND

CLAN WALLACE are the hosted clan for the 2010 Games in North Carolina.

Barry Wallace (Our President) and I are definite to go

WATCH THIS SPACE

On the 25th and 26th July 2009 Edinburgh will witness one of the largest clan gatherings in history.

Holyrood Park will host a magnificent Highland Games over the two days,

then on the Saturday evening Clan members will parade up the historic Royal Mile and take their seats on the castle esplanade for a spectacular Clan Pageant .

We have lots of items for sale. see our new main website at

www.celt.co.nz

About The Gathering 2009

Vision

To hold the greatest clan gathering the world has ever seen.
Mission

To stage an international Clan Gathering and Highland Games to celebrate Scotland’s rich history and cultural traditions.
Key Messages

•    Come home and celebrate your roots
•    A unique celebration of Scottish heritage and culture
•    A celebration of one of Scotland’s greatest traditions
•    An opportunity to thank the clan associations and Scottish societies from around the world for their role in keeping these traditions alive.

The Gathering 2009 Ltd was setup in February 2007 to organise and execute The Gathering 2009 in Edinburgh on the 25th and 26th of July 2009. The Gathering 2009 Ltd has received public funding from Event Scotland, City of Edinburgh Council and Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian. This was granted on the basis that the event would provide a 18:1 return on investment to Scotland as a whole.

The Gathering 2009 is one of the signature events of Homecoming Scotland, a year long government initiative aimed at encouraging those with a passion or connection with Scotland to come home.

For many years Scotland has witnessed a decline in the popularity of Highland Games and a near extinction of clan activity. However, the opposite is true in some countries, especially in North America, where clan membership exceeds 100,000 and over 300 Highland Games and festivals are held annually.

Over the past few years there has been an overall strengthening of national identity within Scotland. This has provided an ideal environment in which to celebrate the contribution that the clans and their descendants have made to maintaining national traditions.

 

The Royal Mile is one of the most famous streets in Europe's capital cities. It has witnessed Royal processions, public executions and riots. Every notable figure in Scotland's rich history has walked on this street. This will be the first time that all the clans have paraded from the royal Palace of Holyrood up to the Edinburgh Castle esplanade. A true distance of 1 mile and 107 yards, a climb of 560 feet from the bottom to the top. 

The parade will be divided into sections with each section being led by a pipe band. Clans people will parade in alphabetical order and will be preceded by their chiefs and commanders with the clan banners.

Would you like to come with us?

Contact any of the following for more information

Clan Secretaries

Tom & Yvonne

078541446

Barry Wallace, Clan President

094105257

Bob Wallace, Celtic Connexions

078569501