Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Sea Cliff community came together for a party before the snowstorm as St. Luke’s Episcopal Church brought back Burns Night on Saturday. Haggis, bagpipes and Robert Burns’ poetry returned to the village after a year off.
Sunday’s impending storm did not keep people away from the celebration. According to parishioner Kristine Janusas, the event’s organizer, more than 70 people attended, and many tickets were sold at the door.
“I don’t think,” Janusas said. “we had any seats left.”
Oberlin University graduates Ethan DiPietro and Sangeetha Ramanuj played Celtic tunes on guitar and violin. Dan DiPietro, Sea Cliff resident and grandfather to Ethan, organized their performance for the event.
“They play a lot of Celtic music,” he said. “so it just seemed like a really good fit.”
Sea Cliff resident Paul Haining played the bagpipes and recited Burns’ “Immortal Memory,” the traditional toast of the event. Resident Gloria Sosa described his performance as “really a celebration of Scottish culture.”
Traditional Scottish dishes were served including haggis and meat pies. There were also vegan and gluten free dishes available.
“I thought I was going to have to fast for the evening and eat when I got home,” Dan DiPietro said. “But there were wonderful entrees, salad, desserts, so I’m thankful.”
Sosa praised Janusas and the volunteers for putting the ev together. Ann DiPietro, president of the Sea Cliff Civic Association, said that Burns Night was a community event.
“That’s what I walked away with,” she said. “thinking what a wonderful place Sea Cliff is and how good it is that we have these times when we can be together.”
Between $3,000 and $4,000 were raised for St. Luke’s, according to Janusas. Organizers have not yet decided whether Burns Night will continue biannually or annually. Janusas said that a Kentucky Derby event on or around the day of the Kentucky Derby is being discussed.
“We’ll come up with different things,” she said. “to change things up a little bit.”
St. Luke’s will host a dramatization of a Barbara Pym novel in March alongside the civic association.
