Friday Nights at NOMA features an exciting lineup of programs in 2020: live music, movies, activities for kids and families, and more. Regular admission prices apply—NOMA members are FREE—but there is no extra charge for programs or films. All galleries, the Museum Shop, and Café NOMA remain open until 9 pm.

In partnership with The NOLA Project theater company, NOMA will present a fun and nontraditional Scottish celebration of poetry, music, food, and drink for the entire New Orleans community. Pull out your kilt and tartan and come be a Scotsman for the night we celebrate the life, times, and poetry of one of the world’s greatest wordsmiths, Robert Burns.

The evening will feature bagpipes and Scottish country dancers from the Caledonian Society of New Orleans, a parade and Ode to the Haggis, live music, singing, and a host of spoken poetry delivered by members of the theater company and special guests from the community. Come join the fun, learn about the legend of Robert Burns, sign up to read a poem, sing a song, and celebrate the Scottish way! Food and drink will be available for purchase from Café NOMA, including a special cock-a-leekie soup.

5 – 8 pm | Art on the Spot drop-in activity table

5:30 pm | Reading of “Immortal Memory,” a tribute to Robert Burns

6:30 to 7 pm | Folk dancing performance and visitor participation with the Caledonia Society of New Orleans

7 pm | Ceremonial entry of the Haggis in the Great Hall

The event will conclude with a singalong of Burns’s most famous song, “Auld Lang Syne.” Throughout the evening, actors from The NOLA Company will be reading Burns’s poems and visitors are encouraged to select from print handouts to read poems at the microphone.

Friday Nights at NOMA is presented by The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate and supported in part by grant funds from the Azby Fund; Ruby K. Worner Charitable Trust; New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation; and the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council.