60th Annual Heather Tartan Ball & Silent Auction

The 60th Annual Heather Tartan Ball & Silent Auction is coming to the Seattle Latvian Cultural Center on Saturday, November 7, and this one is a big one. It's the diamond anniversary of the ball, which is billed as the premiere event of the Seattle Scottish community's season. The night is put on by the Seattle Scottish Highland Games Association, a self-supporting, non-profit, all-volunteer organization that works to bring Scotland to the Pacific Northwest. The proceeds from the evening go toward the Pacific Northwest Scottish Highland Games and Clan Gathering.

It's a semi-formal evening, and the organizers encourage everyone to wear their clan tartan. The program blends a social hour and a silent auction with pipe band performances, highland dancing, Scottish country dancing, and ballroom dancing. The dance music comes from BottleRockit, and the silent auction runs from 6:00 to 9:30 PM, so you'll have a good window to browse the tables before the dancing takes over the room.

If you're not familiar with the different styles, it's a bit of a Scottish dance sampler in one night. You've got the highland dancing, which is the more formal, athletic side of things; the country dancing, which is the social, group-based tradition; and the ballroom dancing for the later part of the evening. Between those and the pipe bands, there's plenty to keep you moving.

The ball runs from 6:00 to 11:30 PM, with doors opening at 5:30 PM. It's held at the Seattle Latvian Cultural Center, 11710 3rd Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98125.