Why New York keeps saying 'haste ye back' to Tartan Week

The Tailor Public House in Midtown, New York might be an Irish bar, but climb the stairs and things get distinctly Scottish.

That is because it is playing host to the New York City Tartan Week Mod, a celebration of Gaelic arts.

The word "Mod" means gathering, and this performance has attracted people from across the world.

It is just one of many events that make up New York City's Tartan Week – a celebration of Scottish links to the Big Apple.

We arrive just in time to catch NACIS Secondary Singers in the choir competition.

The 22-strong school group take to the stage in front of a saltire backdrop, and then deliver a pitch-perfect performance in Gaelic.

It is all the more impressive given that they're from Shanghai.

Pupils, like Will, Emily and Bibi, travelled 24 hours to take part in Tartan Week.

Inspired by a Scottish teacher back home, their Caledonian hobbies go beyond singing. They have also been learning the bagpipes and drums.

They did not win the competition – that accolade went to Lochs Gaelic Choir from the Isle of Lewis.

But Emily, one of the choir members - who will also be playing the bagpipes in the main parade - still says it has been "beautiful" to find out the culture behind the Gaelic language.

Though she concedes that it has been a learning curve, describing the language as "very different from Chinese and very different from English".

But this is a perfect illustration of the international reach of Scottish culture, and the role that Tartan Week plays in it.

The festivities will culminate with a march through the streets of Manhattan later today, led by the actor Alan Cumming as its "Grand Marshall".

His predecessors in that role include Billy Connolly, the actor Brian Cox and the musician KT Tunstall.

Before the parade began, Cumming told the BBC he feels it "ironic" that Scots are celebrating during Tartan Week while New Yorkers are protesting against the US government.

Opponents of President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk are rallying across the US on Saturday against government downsizing, the economy, human rights and other issues.

Meanwhile Cumming will be joined by around 3,500 marchers, 28 bands, representation from 25 clans and 119 dogs, known as the Celtic Canine Brigade.

As Tartan Week president Kyle Dawson explained, this is just one of a multitude of events – including ceilidhs, kilt fittings, and a Saturday night hoolie.

The man who organises all of this was born in New Jersey.

His day job is working as a director of an advertising company, but he looks like he could be an extra from Braveheart.

Decked out in his New York City tartan kilt, with long hair and beard, Mr Dawson explained his roots go back to Inverness.

Tartan Week, he said, was founded "to celebrate the Scots emigrants and Scots Americans and what they've done to build this country."

He singled out the industrialist Andrew Carnegie, saying the Dunfermline-born Scot used "all his steel to build this whole city".

In Central Park, the Renfrewshire Schools Pipe Band are practicing ahead of their role in the parade.

Pipe major Keith Bowes explains that two years of work and "a huge amount of effort" has gone into getting dozens of their members to New York – some had never been on a flight before.

Busking, bag packing and race nights helped them raise the tens of thousands of pounds required to make it out here.

And their excitement is palpable as crowds gathered to film them playing US anthem Yankee Doodle on their pipes.

Piper Craig Caldwell, 17, summed up the mood, saying he was "buzzing" ahead of the parade.

But, look past the bagpipes, kilts and ceilidhs, and there's another side to Tartan Week.

Business groups see it as a key opportunity to get to the States and try and secure investment.

Charandeep Singh is deputy director of the Scottish Chamber of Commerce, and he believes the backdrop of Tartan Week can help people like him secure meetings in important boardrooms.

He explained that Scottish culture helps "open the door" in the USA.

So he has been taking part in a number of events, saying these are ultimately "an opportunity to drum up business for Scotland."

We are chatting to Charandeep Singh on the edge of Central Park, right next to a Trump International skyscraper.

It is an appropriate metaphor, given that the US President has definitely loomed over proceedings this week.

It is striking how many New Yorkers simply do not want to talk about him or his policies when the cameras are rolling. Some told us it was not worth risking the online backlash.

Politicians – including First Minister John Swinney and Scottish Secretary Ian Murray – are also here to try and drum up trade.

But that is not easy at a time when the White House is introducing sweeping tariffs. That means 10% on the cost of Scottish produce like whisky and salmon.

Throughout the week, we have spoken to various businesses who import from Scotland, and they fear they'll have to increase costs or even pivot more towards goods produced in the US.

But for the majority of global Scots who've made the journey to the Big Apple, this isn't a time to worry about trade barriers or the stock market.

It's an opportunity to celebrate Scotland's links to the USA, and broaden the reach of Scottish culture.

The native New Yorkers also seem to be getting into the spirit.

Tartan Week has been running since 1998, and they keep saying "haste ye back."