Tag: New York City

From the East Coast Main Line to the East Coast of the US: Lumo’s tartan is showcased in New York City

Scotland’s TikTok sensation Just The Brave have modelled the rail operator Lumo’s iconic tartan pattern at the New York Tartan Day parade.

The parade is held every April to mark the end of the annual Tartan Week, a celebration of Scottish-American heritage. Several thousand marchers made their way down Sixth Avenue, with Outlander actor Sam Heughan leading the parade this year.

Just The Brave, who have racked up 5.7 million views on TikTok, proudly represented Lumo at the event in special tartan waistcoats. The operator is famous for providing affordable, direct links between Glasgow, Falkirk, Edinburgh, the North East of England and London.

Lumo recently enlisted the help of Houston Kiltmakers to design an official tartan to cement its dedication to serving Scotland. The eye-catching design was formally accepted into the Scottish Register of Tartans in January this year.

As well as taking part in the official New York Tartan Day parade, Just The Brave were selected to appear on a large billboard in the city’s iconic Times Square. The group made the most of the unique opportunity by taking selfies with the huge digital screen.

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Richard Salkeld, Director of Communications and Partnerships at Lumo, led the project to commission the tartan design. He said: “We’re committed to celebrating Scotland and the communities that we serve. As Lumo continues to better connect Scotland with new routes including Glasgow and Stirling, our tartan is an ideal way to reflect our cross-border connectivity.

“Seeing our officially registered tartan being worn at such an iconic event that celebrates Scotland is a very special moment to further showcase Scotland on an international stage.”

Just The Brave also wowed guests with a performance at the official opening of Lumo’s new rail base in Preston last month. Lumo is preparing to launch a brand new service for the West Coast this spring, connecting destinations including Stirling, Carlisle, Preston and London Euston.

Just The Brave added: “Visiting New York City to take part in the Tartan Day Parade has genuinely been a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“Thank you so much to Lumo for their support in helping us to do this and for sorting us out with the perfect waistcoats to model on Sixth Avenue.

“It was particularly amazing to see our photo shining bright in Times Square! Gestures like that sum up why Lumo is so loved in Scotland.”

Lumo journeys between Glasgow and London King’s Cross start from just £33.90 when booked direct, with journeys between London Euston and Stirling on Lumo’s upcoming West Coast route starting from just £29.90.

Lumo recently celebrated Scottish Tourism Month by partnering with Visit Glasgow to showcase the best places to visit in the city, with video content featuring BBC Radio 1 presenter Emil Franchi.

The operator also proudly supports Glasgow’s Pride, Stirling’s Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Festival and the Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

External Affairs Secretary to visit USA

‘Celebrating Scotland’s ties with North America’

External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson will visit Washington, D.C. and New York City this week to promote Scotland to North America as a place to live, work, study and do business. He will also take part in a range of other diaspora and cultural events, including this year’s Tartan Day parade in New York City.

Tartan Day (6 April) was officially declared by the US Senate in 1998 to honour the contributions that American Scots have made to the US. The days leading up to the annual parade up 6th Avenue have since become known as ‘Tartan Week’ with a range of events held across the USA to celebrate Scottish arts and culture, as well as traditional music, food and drink.

The External Affairs Secretary’s engagements will include:

  • meetings with tech companies who are investing or planning to invest in Scotland
  • a meeting with the World Bank to discuss Scotland’s funding for inclusive education projects in partner countries in Africa
  • a Scottish Development International showcase of high-quality Scottish food and drink products to US buyers and distributors with the aim of increasing export sales
  • a discussion hosted by the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society to discuss their new research into Scottish links of enslaved Americans and their descendants – a project supported by the Scottish Connections Fund
  • cultural events including the Tartan Day Tattoo in Washington, D.C., New York’s Tartan Day Observance in Bryant Park, the Kirkin’ o’ the Tartan at the Brick Church on the Upper East Side and the annual Tartan Day parade up 6th Avenue with this year’s Grand Marshal Dougray Scott.

Mr Robertson said: “Tartan Week is an opportunity to celebrate the Scotland’s historic ties with North America, which flourish to this day through cultural exchange, trade, investment and tourism.

“The US is Scotland’s most important international trading partner, as our largest export destination and source of inward investment, and our third biggest market for non-EU international students, with over 6,300 US students choosing to study here in 2021/22.

“I want to encourage greater connections, and greater trade and investment between our countries, which is why I’m meeting a range of existing and potential investors during my time in the US.

“As a showcase of Scottish culture and heritage in the US, Tartan Week is also a major opportunity for our culture and creative sectors to reach new audiences and markets, in line with our recently published international culture strategy, and our Scottish Connections Framework, which aims to strengthen Scotland’s links with our diaspora throughout the world.”