Heritage Workshops - Presented Saturday, January 26, 2008
Crescent Hotel - Faculty Lounge
(4th floor - across from Dr. Baker's Lounge)
Attendance included with Burns Night Reservation Price
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9:00 to 10:15 AM
All Pipes Great and Small
The pipes call you out first thing in the morning! Get the blood stirring early with a wee bit of musical and
political history of Celtic pipes - from the Highland bagpipe to the simple and beautiful pennywhistle.
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Presenter
Caven Clark expresses his love for his Celtic heritage through his music and instruction. Caven brings
his expertise as a musician with Highland bagpipe, smallpipe, uilleann pipe, gaita, and pennywhistle
to this workshop. Along with his wife and musical partner Eileen, whose dedication as an instructor in
Irish step dance and Scottish country dance, this team keeps their arts alive and well in Harrison,
Arkansas. Performing as Crooked Creek Ceili Band & Dancers, Caven and Eileen organize and host a
quarterly ceili dance at St. John's Episcopal Church Parish Hall, as well as actively organizing and
demonstrating their arts throughout the Ozarks area.
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10:30 to 11:45 AM
The Life & Times of Robert Burns
The political climate and the social issues of Burns' day changed the Celtic world and its culture forever.
Learn why Robert Burns is held in highest esteem as The Bard of Scotland with modern-day Scottish bard,
Ed Miller as your guide.
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Presenter
Ed Miller, a native of Edinburgh, Scotland and now living in Austin, Texas, is a product of the 1960s folk
revival in Scotland. He moved to the United States in 1968 to complete his graduate work in Geography,
and later Folklore, at the University of Texas at Austin. In addition to his singing career, Ed is the host of
a folk music program on Austin's NPR station, KUT-FM. Ed is a performer who has learned his craft in
musical venues on both sides of the Atlantic and a folklorist who brings his love of Scotland to every
presentation. Ed is the special guest host of the Robert Burns Night Suppers.
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12 Noon to 1:15 PM
Bagpipes & Bib Overalls: a Brief Look at the Ozarks' Scottish Connection
Join storytellers Todd Wilkinson & Champ Herren as they examine the Scottish & Ulster-Scottish roots of
traditional Ozarks culture, including Ozarks music, dance, moonshining, folklore & superstition.
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Presenters
Todd Wilkinson received his Masters in history from Missouri State University and is a librarian and
adjunct history instructor at Ozarks Technical Community College in Springfield, MIssouri. Todd is a
seasonal ranger with the US National Park Service at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, and is very
active in a number of Scottish and fraternal organizations, including serving as President of the Clan
Cumming Society of the USA, a member of the Scottish Tartans Authority and the Society Sennachie, or
Bard, of the Scottish Saint Andrew’s Society of Springfield.
Champ Herren is a "gentleman farmer" who lives in rural Webster County, Missouri with his wife, two
sons, two dogs, a plethora of chickens and a goat. He is a member of the Scottish St. Andrew's Society
of Springfield and a regular contributor to the Ozarks Mountaineer magazine.
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1:30 to 2:45 PM
The Ozark Celts
Learn more of the generations of Scots, Welsh, and Irish who have lived in Arkansas ever since it was a
territory. The Celts of the New World established the culture of the southern upland peoples in the
colonies in the 1700's before moving West in the early 1800s. These Scots and Welsh were true pioneers
and settled in the Northwestern corner of the Arkansas Territory. The early Irish immigration came to
Arkansas long before the tragic 1840 Potato famine.
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Presenter
June Westphal is considered Northwest Arkansas' premiere expert on Ozark history. She is a native of
Eureka Springs is active in the Eureka Springs' Historical Museum where she has served as Executive
Director. Westphal began her research of the Ozarks in the 1950s and published her first book in
1971. In 1976, she authored a research and text of Eureka Springs' pictorial history for the Carnegie
Library Association. In 1979, Westphal also wrote a Centennial history of Eureka Springs. In the
1970s, she also started writing historical background for tourism brochures. Westphal's ethnic
heritage includes Irish, Welsh and British ancestors and has made a lifetime commitment to research
and preservation of the Ozark culture and Eureka Springs in particular.
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3:00 to 4:15 PM
The Magic of Harps and Dulcimers
18th century blind Irish harper Turlough O'Carolan is a favorite composer for modern Celtic harpists and
stringed instrumentalists. Linda Brockinton teaches more about this beautiful instrument with
demonstrations of how the original harps were played, some history and lots of O'Carolan's music.
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Presenter
Linda Brockinton started playing flute at age eleven and has played flute and piccolo previously with
the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. As a music major in college, she won First Chair in several
regional orchestras. Linda began playing mountain dulcimer in 1988 and she has taught dulcimer
lessons since 1990. She also plays harp, guitar, hammered dulcimer, and bodhran. Linda continues
to teach private dulcimer and flute lessons as well as teaching at numerous venues across the country.
Linda with the "Celtic Heartstrings" trio will be performing in Dr. Baker's Lounge after Burns Night
dinner on Friday and Saturday, and at the Crescent Hotel Sunday Brunch.
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Presented in Dr. Baker's Lounge - 3:30 to 4:30 PM
Scotch on the Eureka Rocks
It's called the Water of Life by our Celtic ancestors. The fiery liquid they distilled had the power to revive
tired bodies and failing spirits, to drive out bone-deep chills and rekindle hope. As it was then, so it is now
still a veritable gift from the gods themselves! Learn the mysteries of single-malt whisky (and what that
means) and, at your own discretion, enjoy a taste of the Highlands along with your new-found knowledge.
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Presenter
Michael Jaschke, Food and Beverage Director at the Crescent Hotel, organizes monthly food and
spirits tastings for the hotel and is a seasoned expert in Scottish single-malt whisky and domestic and
internationally blended whiskeys. (Ask him about fine wines, too!) As the official "Master of the Whisky"
for the Robert Burns Night events for many years, Mike has agreed this year to share some of the
secrets of distilling and tasting this magical elixir. Be prepared to purchase a flight (or two...) of
recommended brands from the bar to enjoy the full experience of this workshop. And even if you don't
attend the workshop, you'll still want to treat yourself to the Scotch-tastings offered in Dr. Baker's
Lounge throughout the weekend.
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