A Marblehead tradition for the last 18 years and a Scottish one since 1801, Burns Night will be celebrated again at The Landing Restaurant on Thursday, Jan. 15.
Robert Burns, the Scottish poet, songwriter and music collector, lived in the second half of the 18th century and wrote more than 700 poems and songs in his short life.
The first Burns Supper, an informal affair, was held in 1801 by nine of the poet’s closest friends in the same cottage in Alloway, Ayrshire, where he was born on Jan. 25, 1759. Burns had been dead for fewer than five years, but that small start led to a sort of immortality for “Scotland’s national bard,” as hundreds of such events are now held each year across the world.
The Marblehead Burns Night is once again being organized by Rhod Sharp and his wife, Vicki Staveacre, who introduced Burns Suppers at Old North Church. For three years starting in 2018, they took over Marblehead Little Theatre for the original and highly successful “Love Scotland” shows.
After COVID, Sharp teamed up with his original Burns Supper collaborators, Jeremy Bell and local soprano Julianne Gearhart, for a traditional Burns Night celebration with the enthusiastic help of Robert Simonelli and the staff of The Landing.
“We’re looking forward to celebrating the life and work of Burns, who I consider Scotland’s poet of revolution, with a three-course dinner, stories and songs,” Sharp said.
Burns Night 2026 will feature some of the classic Burns Supper traditions, including the Address to the Haggis (a traditional dish of sheep heart, liver and lungs), the Selkirk Grace and the Immortal Memory together with a selection of Burns music and song presented by Bell and Gearhart.
The three-course dinner will feature Chef Brayan Medina’s exotic haggis appetizer, a choice of entree and dessert. The cost of the evening is $70 plus gratuity. For reservations, call Staveacre at 202-679-3356.
