Latest Pictures Released (as always, more to come!)

Kait Z. and myself post-selection

In the foyer of the Ambassodor's Residence March 13th 2011 - always mid sentence...

     Walking and Waving in the St. Patrick's Day Parade! :)

A few photos from St. Patrick's Day at the residence of the ambassador of Ireland (photos by Austin Comerton)

March 17th, 2011

Quote of the day...

Anyone acquainted with Ireland knows that the morning of St. Patrick's Day consists of the night of the seventeenth of March flavored strongly with the morning of the eighteenth

St. Patrick's Day Shenanigans 

The day began early for me. I got up around 6:00 and completed some school work before getting ready to head out for the day's events.

The ground breaking at St. Patrick's home was really touching. All involved are so commited and investing in the new project and it's nice to see that they take the time to ensure our senior citizens have a dignified place to live surrounded by friends and family. Unfortunately, do to time constraints, I did not get to stay and see the first mound of earth moved...I was so looking forward to getting a token "look at me, I'm digging all this out for the foundation - wearing heels" photo. Aw well!

At 11:10 I rushed to my car and drove (of course obeying spead limits at all times) across town to Rogers TV. I arrived at 11:27! Success!
I got mic-ed and we were on at about 11:40. They asked a series of pretter standard questions:
What's the history of the festivale?
Is it a pageant?
What does the selection process involve?
The story behind why Laura chopped off all her gorgeous long red locks
What I am up to next...
etc.
All in all, it went very well - please let me know if you saw it, I unfortunately did not get to see it...and my mother missed it too so I really don't know.

Then I raced to St. Brigid's for lunch with the National Irish Canadian Culture Centre group (NICCC was my sponsor in the "competition").
We had a lovely lunch filled with gorgeous dancing by the SFH Irish dancers and fiddle players Matt Pepin and ...? I'm so horrible with name, I apologize, but you were both fantastic.
It's quite amazing to see some of the dancers that were 7 or 8 when I danced for Sue and are now headed into their teenage years - my how they've grown!!

I then got ready for the reception at the embassy.
Curling my hair was a nightmare...for anyone who saw me - it was not a good day in the hair department.
I wore a black pencil skirt and a green blouse (...I know I know but I had to!).
There was a harpist playing background music all night. I was explaining how the harp is tuned, what the coloured strings represent etc when I suddenly found myself seating behind the harp and playing...don't ask me how it happened - but it did.
I stopped taking lessons years ago, but this weekend has made me consider going back.
We all have more to learn in everything we do and I have noticed that my ability to read music has slowed over the years. I can still play along with a piece right away by looking at the sheet music, but not like I used to!

Following our time at the embassy, we headed back to Kait's aunt and uncles house to change quickly before heading out to the Heart and Crown.
The girls and I wanted a night out together (without our sashes and my crown!)...and that's exactly what we got. Laura's lovely roomate drove us there and we may or may not have peer pressured her into staying with us :)
We had a great time dancing the night away despite the crowd! What a busy spot!
The other girls headed home and Kait and I stayed and enjoyed the remainder of the night together teaching young men and women alike to Irish dance and reminding the boys that showed up with pipes that pipes are scottish - that being said...it didn't matter, at long as you're loud (which the pipes definately are!) St. Patty's Day will welcome you with open arms.
We ran into many a friend and had a night we will not soon forget.
I explained the Rose of Tralee festivale to a number of people and earned the nickname Long Stem by the end of the night...how elegant! haha NOT
All in good fun.

The night ended well with a long chat with the friendly doormen at the Heart. Despite the rain it was a good night to be a doorman...nice and warm!

Thank you Kait for the mid morning tour of your aunt and uncles house - Chris was very impressed and I'm glad he got to see the place, it's really something else. We discussed what a morgage would be on a house that price and determined we will never live in a house worth 1.6 Million...how upsetting hahaha I still can't believe that the apartment in the basement rents for twice the price of our morgage!!!

Anyways, I'll leave it there. All in all it was a fun filled and exciting day. Now, it's back to reality! I have two exams next week and two GIANT final projects to write all in the next couple weeks. It's crunch time! I'm SO excited to be done this undergrad chapter of my life though. Don't get me wrong it has been great, but I'm ready for something new.

OH also, I should note that in June I have a couple of lovely people that may follow me all the way from Canada to Port Loeis, Ireland for the Regional Finals!!
Kait, my roomate from the selection weekend and partner in crime (I mean adventure), my mother, and one of my dance students and her family may come and join me either in June or August (if I make it through the regional round)!
Also, my very best friend Laura Gall and I plan to take an extra week and travel around following the Regionals :)
I'm sooooo excited for June!!!!

Thank you to everyone for the continued love and support.

If you don't hear from me over the weeks to come it is simply because I don't want to bore you with the details of my projects, labs, and studying extravagazas...I'm aware that stuff is only interesting to me!

I hope you all had a lovely St. Patrick's Day filled with good music, a few good brews, and lots of cheer!
Enjoy the warm weather if you're in Ottawa!

-Eat your veggies & drink lots of water!
Kate

Photos from Selection Weekend

St. Patrick's Day 2011

Quote of the Day...

St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time - a day to begin transforming winter's dreams into summer's magic.  ~Adrienne Cook

Wishing you all a wonderful and safe St. Patrick's Day!!!

Tune in to Rogers TV at 11:40 to see Laura and I discussing details of this past weekend and the events to come associated with the Rose of Tralee.

Please do not drink and drive.

March 11-13, 2011 The Selection Weekend

Quote of the day:

Forgivness is accepting that the past could not have been any different.

Below:
-A list of our itinerary from last weekend (the weekend of the selection)
-What I'm up to today! :)

Friday March 11, 2011
9:00 PM Check-In to Les Suites on Besserer

Saturday March 12, 2011
 9:00 AM Breakfast
10:30 AM Depart for St. Patrick's Day Parade
11:00 AM St. Patrick's Day Parade
1:00 PM Post Parade Part at Landsdown Park, possible media interviews
4:00 PM Return to Les Suites, individual time and personal interviews with judges
6:00 PM Dinner with the judges and ceili
10:00 PM Visit D'Arcy Mc Gee's and Heart and Crown
12:30 PM Retire to hotel

Sunday March 13, 2011
7:45 AM Depart for CHIN 97.9fm, Gaelic Hour
8:00 AM Gaelic hour interviews
9:00 AM Roses DJ their selected tunes on the Gaelic hour
10:00 AM Depart for the National Irish Canadian Culture Centre Pancake Breakfast
11:30 AM Return to Les Suites (get dressed for selection)
12:00 PM Lunch
1:00 PM Serving tea and coffee etc at St. Patrick's Home
2:30 PM Depart for Ambassadors residence for the selection ceremony
3:00 PM Selection Ceremony, individual interviews and party pieces
4:45 PM Ottawa Rose 2011 selected and presented to the audience

6:00 PM Heart and Crown with my sponsor NICCC
6:30 PM Dinner with the organizers of the weekend
10:30 PM Pass out!!

TODAY :)

Today I am just wrapping up work for school. Submitted my lab early this morning, went to class and had a wonderful guest lecture from Ben Jammin. Check out the project he is working on in the Artic to bring hip hop dance to the kids there...simply amazing what he is doing for these children and their community.

A short intro to the program:

A full length video is available at: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:324PbBUzy-0J:www.pcollines.com/arctichiphop.html+arctic+hip+hop+randy+kelly&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk

or visit: http://www.blueprintforlife.ca/index.html for more details

Ben has gotten letters from kids telling him that because of him and the floor masters crew, they were no longer going to commit suicide - dance gave them a new perspective on life and a renewed sense of hope for tomorrow.

I was so touched by his stories that I have offered my services in writing his proposal for funding as well as drawing up a complete health program and program evaluation for his new project (set to launch sometime this year). Christine Seabrook and I will be working on the project over the next month. I'll keep you posted on how it is going.

These kids have some of the worse drug addiction problems in our country as well as the highest suicide rates. Ben in breaking ground and has found a way to reach these children and I'm so thrilled to be even a small part of that.

Fingers crossed, I will travel up North sometime within the year with Ben and his new crew.

As a dance teacher, this initiative warmed my heart...it is truly amazing what dance can do for people.

Now, I'm just studying for my upcomming midterms (next week) and getting set for a fun filled day tomorrow - ST PATTY'S DAY.

Don't forget to wear green!!

Ottawa's 2011 Rose

Fáilte!! Welcome,

As the 2011 Ottawa Rose of Tralee I will be keeping a blog here to keep everyone up to date on where I am and what I am doing. 

Below:

- A press release in case you want to know a little more about the festival and Rose Selection here in Ottawa

-A biography on myself (Kate Scott)

-A small note to my fellow roses <3

-Special thanks to my sponsors

-Events I will be attending for St. Patricks Day

-Photo from the selection at the residence of the Irish Embassador

ROSE OF TRALEE OTTAWA CENTRE IS SET TO SELECT THIS YEAR’S CANDIDATE TO SEND TO IRELAND

(OTTAWA – March 7, 2011) As the St. Patrick’s week festivities begin across the city, the Rose of Tralee Ottawa Centre prepares to select this year’s Ottawa Rose who will be a candidate to represent the Nation’s Capital in the 2011 Rose of Tralee International Festival in County Kerry, Ireland.

Each year, the Festival hosts young women from all over the world who gather to celebrate their Irish heritage. The Festival was initially conceived as a way to bring Irish descendants back to Ireland, as well as a means of boosting the local economy and regenerating the town of Tralee. It has since expanded to include centres from across the globe including Australia, New Zealand, the UAE, North America and Europe.

The Festival derived its name from a 19th century love story. William Mulchinock, a 19th century wealthy merchant from Tralee, wrote a song about his love for his maid Mary O'Connor. The song included the lyrics, "lovely and fair as the rose of summer, it was not her beauty alone that won me, oh no, ‘twas the truth in her eyes ever dawning’. As reflected in the song, the focus of the Festival is on the personal accomplishments of the Rose and her ability to act as a role model and ambassador for her centre and for the festival.

Before the final Ottawa selections at the residence of the Irish Ambassador hosted by CTV’s Michael O’Byrne, this year’s Rose candidates will participate in various activities including the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Led by Ottawa’s 2010 Rose, Laura Hay, the young ladies will tour around meeting the groups and organizations who are part of Ottawa’s thriving Irish community. The winning Rose will be selected by a panel of judges and will receive an all expenses paid trip to Ireland to represent the Ottawa Centre in the Rose of Tralee Regional Finals in County Laois. If the Ottawa Rose successfully makes it through Regionals, she will then return in August for the Rose of Tralee International Festival in County Kerry, Ireland.

The final selections on March 13 are open to the public and tickets can be purchased online at the Ottawa Rose of Tralee website: http://www.roseoftralee.ca/

Kate Scott - National Irish Canadian Cultural Centre (NICCC) Rose
Kate Scott's relatives are scattered throughout Canada so she found her place, as friends became family, within the Irish community in Ottawa. Kate will complete her Bachelors degree in Health Science at the University of Ottawa in the spring and hopes to continue her studies in Naturopathic Medicine eventually earning her Doctorate. Currently working as an Irish dance teacher, Kate hopes that being sponsored as a Rose in the festival will make her dancers proud! Kate looks forward to the opportunity to meet and network with like-minded people both in Ottawa and abroad and share their stories and her own with the world.  As a Rose, Kate will be true to her Irish heritage, true to her family, true to her friends, and perhaps most importantly, continue to be true to herself. Kate enjoys spending her free time playing the harp, walking her dogs, travelling, and boating. "I've always prided myself on being Irish, that is the easy part - sitting back and realizing that someone thought I was deserving of a sponsorship in order to stand alongside so many esteemed young women... now that's just a blessing!". As a 5th generation Canadian, Kate's Irish link is maternal. Her ancestors are from Corkstown, Co. Tyrone. Kate's great great grandmother left for Canada at 22 without her parents' consent on a trip to explore the world with her best girlfriend. She ended up working for the governor general in Montreal (so the family is told) as a cook where she met her future Scotsman husband at the morning market.

rose is a rose is a rose is a rose...[by: Gertrude Stein]

Ladies - Alice, Kait, Karianne, Lisa and Kari Leagh,

I must first say how happy I am to have met all of you! You are suuuuch wonderful women and am privelaged to have spent the weekend with all of you, it really was a wonderful, event filled weekend I do not think any of us will soon forget.

From Friday's late night chat, to the parade (great choreography Karianne!), to chatting with the folks at the afterparty, to being interviewed, to dinner with the judges and ceili dancing, to our very own little pub crawl, to laughing histerically over Kait's party piece (the dead chicken - yes, I knew about that on Saturday night but I was bound to a strict roomate confidentiality clause), to learning to take over the radio station in less than 2 minutes, to lunch at NICCC, to St. Pat's home,  to the selection ceremony....what a trip!!!

You are all such accomplished women...it still boggles my mind to think of all the amazing things you have all accomplished in so little time!

My hope is that we will all stay connected over the years and that I will see you all out at as many events as you can manage to attend because we are all roses for the year and I'd love the company!

Please know that you'll always have a place to stay in Ottawa (if you are not a local and you come to visit, let me know!)

Please keep me informed with how things are going on your end and I'll do that same.

Sláinte

To the National Irish Canadian Culture Centre (NICCC)

Thank you so much for you support! Without you, I would not have been able to take part in the festival. You've provided me not only with an opportunity to support and represent a community that I love, but also an opportunity for personal growth. A million thanks.

A special thank you to Siobhan and Rosemary O'Brien and family for their special love and support. Siobhan, you saw in me something I did not even know I had...thank you.

I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow for lunch at St. Brigid's!

My Schedule for St. Patrick's Day (March 17/2011):

10:30 Ground Breaking at St. Pat's Home

11:30 Rogers TV appearance

12:30 Lunch at St. Brigid's

6:30- Dinner at the residence of the Embassador of Ireland with the other Roses!

Just remember

in the winter far beneath the bitter snows
lies the seed
that with the sun's love
in the spring
becomes the rose

Austin Comerton (Left), Kate Scott, Pat McDonald & Mike Shaughnessy