This discussion came up here last September after a Scotsman article saying Edinburgh was pulling out of the Tartan Week celebrations. Here is a selection of comments (all from US residents I may add) -

“I cannot understand why Scotland does not get heavily involved with the many Scottish events and bodies in the US, Canada and elsewhere. Tartan Week does not work, if you look at the US press during it, hardly any reporting is done.”

“Problem with Tartan Week in (yuk) New York is that most of us in the US don't know about it. It's not advertised in most areas and I don't blame Edinburgh for pulling out. Taxpayers are not getting their money's worth by sending people over to gad about in NY. Here on the Main Line there's a lot of Brits and Scots who never heard of tartan week.”.

“I'm sure the folks at Tartan Week don't have a clue that the oldest Highland Games in North America are hosted by the St. Andrew's Society of Detroit (Michigan). Next year marks their 159th annual Highland Games. How many Highland Games has New York City held?”

“I have lived in America for 7 yrs and as far as knowing where Scotland is they STILL think Scotland is in England.
They know very little about why its called Gt Britain.
There are Clan Gatherings all over America but again as someone pointed out they are all claiming their heritage.
When asked where my accent comes from i ask them to guess.... i have had English,Irish,Australian... and god forbid Czech...
Don`t get me wrong i like it here but it does grate a bit having to explain where Scotland is.”

“Like I said before get out of NYC. The Scots, Scot-Irish, were at first only welcomed to Pennsylvania mountains and then down thru the Applications. After the Civil War they moved West.
There are many clan societies in the U.S.A. and they do have games. True we have fun and enjoy celebrating our ancestors, however there is where represenatives of Scotland should go. It would also be the best way to reach out to the people and educate us on modern Scotland.
While there are chapters nationwide, the action seems to be in Georgia, a nice state for a visit.
Canada also boast of many of Scottish heritage, Nove Scotia, and are also very active. I probably have cousins in Canada.
I know that the Scottish Societies in Canada and America would only be too glad to help spread not only the historical Scotland but also the modern one.”

If you read the whole of this article in the Scotsman you will discover that representatives plan to spread the net a bit wider this year - no doubt in response to the type of response seen above.
http://heritage.scotsman.com/tartanw...ake.3857592.jp