• AN-RobertBurnsNight-ML-01252024,ph05
    Elora Harvey performs Robert Burns’ “My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose.” 
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    Stephen Burkhardt, left, and Mary Devine discuss what’s to come at the Antrim Grange Burns Night Saturday. 
  • AN-RobertBurnsNight-ML-01~309646
    Elora Harvey, Charlotte Elwell and Maryanne Cullinan sing “My Heart’s In the Highlands.” 
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    Guests line up for haggis at the Robert Burns Night celebration Saturday night in the Fellowship Hall at the First Prebyterian Church of Antrim. `
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    Piper Marc Rodgers, left, heralds the entrance of the haggis, carried by Mark Reynolds, as Sharon Stickney looks on. 
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    Clockwise from left, the “musican’s table” of Sarah Burt, Bill Nybold, Elora Harvey, Charlotte Elwell, Ray Sweeney, Maryanne Cullinan, Jesse Edwards, David Fleming and Joy Flemming. 
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    Bill Newbold, Jesse Edwards, David Flemming, Charlotte  Elwell, Keira Schaub, Elora Harvey, Joy Flemming, Sarah Burt and Marianne Cullinane perform “Auld Lang Syne.” 
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    Ray Sweeney performs “Address to a Haggis.” 
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    Men in Kilts,  from  left: Lester Gibbs (NH State Grange Pianist), Ray Sweeney, piper Marc Rogers, Doug Hutchinson, Mark Reynolds and Andy Chapman.

The traditional Piping In the Haggis was just one part of the Robert Burns Night celebration hosted by the Antrim Grange Saturday night in Antrim.

More than 80 people attended the event, including musicians, volunteers and guests. Bagpiper Marc Rodgers, accompanied by Lester Gibbs, the pianist for the state Grange; and Antrim’s Ray Sweeney provided music for the evening, along with local musicians and vocalists.

“We have already had a conversation about having the event in a bigger location next year,” said Renee Mercier-Gerritsen of the Antrim Grange.

Burns Night is Scottish tradition celebrating the life and work of poet Robert Burns, the “Bard of Scotland,” who was born Jan. 25, 1759, and died July 21, 1796. Burns may be best known outside Scotland as the writer of “Auld Lang Syne,” the song traditionally sung on New Year’s Eve. Burns Nights typically include bagpipes, haggis, tea and “drams of Scotch.”

Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish consisting of sheep organs, oatmeal and spices. Grange volunteers also served tea, scones, tea sandwiches and homemade desserts during the festivities in the Fellowship Hall at the First Presbyterian Church.

“We did have haggis for anyone who wanted to try it,” Mercier-Gerritsen said.

The event raised money for repairs to the Antrim Grange Hall, which was built in 1785. Antrim Grange No. 98 is a community service organization dedicated to strengthening rural communities through education, advocacy and service. The ongoing repairs to the Grange Hall foundation are part of a seven-year project to restore the building. The Grange has received grants from LCHIP, the 1778 Foundation and the Verney Foundation, as well as a major donation from Monadnock Paper Mill and many members of the community.

Mercier-Gerritsen said making the hall accessible is a priority.

“We are not required by law to do so because it’s a private building, but it is our goal to make the hall fully accessible,” Mercier-Gerritsen. “The community has been very supportive. In the future we are hoping to bring back more of our events, such as our summer supper and harvest suppers. We used to have an art show, a ukulele night. Right now we’re very focused on fundraising to repair the hall.”

Currently, the dining room and kitchen are on the second floor of the Grange Hall. The building lacks running water and septic due to the tiny size of the lot around the building.

“We had running water in the past due to kindness of a neighbor, but we no longer have it because of changes in code. We are hoping we’ll have water and some kind of septic in the future,” Mercier-Gerritsen said.

Antrim Grange community service projects include donating dictionaries to third-graders, sponsoring community suppers, presenting awards to people who have served the Antrim community and adopting the highway that runs by the hall. The Grange’s next event is “Meet Your Candidates” Feb. 28 at Antrim Town Hall, where town residents are invited to meet candidates for local office prior to Town Meeting.

For information about the Antrim Grange, go to the Antrim Grange No. 98 Facebook page or grange.org/antrimnh98.