Tartan Day Parade and Pub Crawl

Tartan Day is a celebration of Scottish culture and heritage and a day to recognize Scottish and Scottish-American contributions to the US. Tartan Day (officially April 6) commemorates the day that the Declaration of Arbroath (or the Scottish Declaration of Independence) was signed in 1320. The American Declaration of Independence was actually modeled on the Declaration of Arbroath and many of the Founding Fathers were of Scottish descent, including almost half of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and nine of the 13 governors of the newly established United States.

The Tartan Day parade features pipe bands, dancers, the Scottish dog pack, Scottish clans and associations and more. This year's parade is the 26th anniversary of the Tartan Day Parade in New York. Scottish actor Alan Cumming is this year's parade grand marshal.

The parade marches up 6th Avenue from 44th to 55th streets. We'll watch near the end of the route, when the pipe bands play their grand finales before stepping off.

We'll start off the day with drinks and optional brunch/lunch at McGee's Pub, the world-famous "How I Met Your Mother" bar on W. 55th, at 1 p.m. McGee's has been a fixture in this neighborhood since the late 1980s and is in a building that dates to 1910. From there we'll check out the parade.

We'll stick to the west 50s for the pub crawl visiting some old or old-themed bars in the area including Tanner Smith's, Haswell Green's and McHale's Bar and Grill.

See you there!