Written by JENNY ENDERLIN

After a long hiatus, Scotland’s Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra (AFO) is returning to Newnan. In anticipation of the visit, Cowetans have come together to ensure a welcome worthy of the South’s reputation for hospitality.

“We are thrilled to welcome back to Newnan the Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra,” says Mayor Keith Brady. “Their visit in July will be a great opportunity for our citizens to learn more about their culture, but it also is a chance for us to showcase our city and all we have to offer.”

The trip is part of a broader Sister City/Sister County relationship between Newnan and Ayr and Coweta and Ayrshire. 

“Since our first visit from the AFO in 1997, our partnership has created deep ties of friendship and helped promote tourism,” says Brady. “This July, we will celebrate the 25th anniversary of our sister city relationship with Ayr, and we look forward to many more years of strong ties between our two cities.”

The sister city bond formed in the mid-1990s when Bette Hickman, John Thrasher and other local citizens traveled to the Washington D.C. area for an education conference. They were immediately drawn to a delegation from Scotland who enthralled them at an afterparty with bagpipes and Scottish dancing, plus an invitation for the Georgia delegates to visit them in Ayr. They eagerly accepted.

“When we arrived, we had an amazing civic reception with all the bells and whistles, and the Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra was playing,” says Hickman, recalling her first time encountering the AFO and its founder, Wallace Galbraith.

The AFO serves as Scotland’s ambassador for traditional Scottish music and culture and consists of five dozen musicians between the ages of 10 and 18 who perform around the world. The orchestra has played at the White House, 10 Downing Street, on Broadway, at the Eiffel Tower and Sydney Opera House, in China and for Queen Elizabeth II. 

As the sister city relationship grew, numerous visits across the ocean ensued. Over the years, Newnan has been represented in Scotland by Mayor Keith Brady, Councilwoman Cynthia Jenkins, Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce Vice President Cynthia Bennett and more. Likewise, Ayr sends dignitaries when the AFO visits.

This summer, Newnan is the AFO’s first stop on their Southern States Tour. A key component of their trip is sampling American life for the first time. During their visit to Georgia, the young musicians will stay in the homes of host families throughout the county, an arrangement organized by the local AFO Steering Committee, which is headed by Co-chairs Bette Hickman and Phyllis Graham, Committee Chair for Home Hosts Cynthia Bennett, and Chair of Finance John Thrasher. Their efforts are supported by volunteers with city and county sponsorship and private sponsors.

Relationships between host families and visiting musicians often last long after the students’ departure.

“Even in the digital age, to put your hand in the hand of someone who has a different culture and is living in a different country – that makes us human and brings us together,” Hickman reflects. “We watched these young kids grow up. I’ve made lifelong friends, and I’m not alone in that.”

Bennett, too, has kept in touch with former Scottish guests. She and her husband Ken traveled to Scotland to visit their guests’ families and have attended family weddings. One former student whom she hosted, David Moore, now serves as the AFO’s musical director and works alongside AFO co-directors Galbraith, Euan Terras and Kathleen Terras.

The musicians and their chaperones will arrive in Newnan on July 18. During their four-day stay, they will be treated to an ice cream social, a pool party at Lynch Park Pool, and a Scottish Ceilidh-meets-Americana-Hoedown. (The Ceilidh – pronounced KAY-lee – is “a celebration of dance and friendship,” says Hickman.) 

“We are all more alike than different” says Graham, stressing the importance of music and art as a means of connection. “I think creating the atmosphere for us to understand that we’re all one really helps.”

The visit culminates with a musical performance on July 20 at Wadsworth Auditorium with the Scottish students each performing in their own distinctive tartan. In conjunction with the concert, the Newnan-Coweta Art Association (NCAA) will host an art exhibition at the Wadsworth’s Vault Gallery.

“All the artwork is related to music – orchestra, fiddle, bagpipes – or to Scotland itself: nature, cultural, historical or architectural,” says NCAA Vice President Rae Duncan. “We sincerely hope the international visitors, local dignitaries and citizens will come to view the exhibition and enjoy this marvelous display of art.”

The event is free to the public, but donations are highly encouraged as the AFO is a nonprofit that relies on contributions, merchandise sales and concert revenue to support the young musicians’ tuition and travels. NCM