Parade, tattoo show in Hoffman Estates

Fiftieth anniversaries are events to celebrate, and Hoffman Estates' blending of Tartan Day into its festivities will offer a yearly reminder of its revelry for the next several years.

The 50th celebration on Saturday, April 18, which will be a full Scottish-themed day, begins with the Tartan Day parade at 10 a.m. stepping off at Eisenhower Junior High School on Hassell Road and going west to the village hall, 1900 Hassell Road.

"(The Scottish theme) set the stage for our unique celebration, the Midwest's only Tartan Day parade," said Linda Scheck, tourism and business retention coordinator.

Scheck said the parade is also a celebration of the arrival of spring, with marchers, dancers and bands.

At noon, the village hall becomes the site for a "Celebration of Nations" festival indoors and vendors and ethnic food stalls outside. She said representatives of many cultures will host the booths to share their heritage and customs.

Then, at 7 p.m. in Sears Centre Arena, 5333 Prairie Stone Parkway, the festivities continue with music, dance and pageantry hosted by the Heartland International Tattoo Music and Dance Festival.

Based on ancient military tradition, Heartland Tattoo performances are 21/2 hours long. The Heartland Tattoo is an exhibition of military and civilian marching bands - brass and bagpipe - singers, drill teams, flag corps, Highland dancers; more than 250 performers in all. Heartland International Tattoo has a five-year contract to perform its show at the Sears Centre.

During the planning stages for the celebration, Hoffman Estates was incorporated Sept. 23, 1959, an idea to resurrect the St. Patrick's parade led Hoffman Estates Mayor Bill McLeod and the 50th Anniversary Commission, chaired by Village Clerk Bev Romanoff, to consider to the country's Scottish settlers.

McLeod, himself of Scottish and Irish heritage, however, wanted to incorporate many cultures into the event after he thought about tartans, the distinctive plaid garments worn by Scottish clans.

"Let's think of every culture that lives in our village as a colored thread," he said.

"When we weave these multihued threads, we create a brilliant tapestry, a tartan all our own."

McLeod will wear his clan's kilt of yellow and black plaid in the parade. He explained that the Clan MacLeod Society has two branches - the Harris Clan that wears "the sedate black watch" and the Lewis Clan, called the "Loud MacLeod," which chooses bumblebee hues of yellow and black.

He said that "somewhere in history the 'a' got dropped from my family's name."

McLeod sent invitations lettered on parchment and affixed with the anniversary seal to his contemporaries, mayors from surrounding towns, asking them to participate.

"The richness of cultures your village provides gives us more reason to march out with pride," he wrote.

"We hope to see this one-day event continue to grow until we develop a monthlong celebration of cultures, music and dance," Scheck said.