By DAVID GUNTER

Feature correspondent

SANDPOINT — Yes, there will be haggis. As you would expect, given the auspicious nature of the upcoming celebration of Scotland’s beloved poet, Robert Burns.

On Sat., Jan. 27, Albeni Falls Pipes & Drums will host a Robert Burns Night at the Heartwood Center in Sandpoint. It will mark the fourth time the group has done so, though these events have been spread out over the course of several years.

The band was formed in 1999, and started doing parades the following year. During that 18-year history, Albeni Falls Pipes & Drums has become a mainstay not only in community parades, but also 9-11 memorials, Memorial Day and Veterans Day commemorations and the funerals of law enforcement personnel, firefighters and veterans, at which they play for free.

Celebratory in nature, Robert Burns Night is an intrinsically Scottish affair, as shown by past attendance. That said, part of those who attend are simply curious about the heritage of the Scots.

“At the last Robert Burns Night we did, I was amazed at the number of people who showed up,” said Merilee Kleiber, a piper with the band. “Some didn’t know anything about Robert Burns and wanted to find out more. Others clearly knew and came dressed in their family tartans.”

The night in the poet’s honor started about 50 years after his death in 1796. Along with poetry, Burns built a reputation as a collector of folk melodies — some of which became vehicles for his verse — and a strong proponent of Scottish nationalism.

Those first celebrations were bawdy matters, according to Kleiber, who said the stories and songs were not meant for the ears of the fairer sex.

“No women were allowed back then,” she said. “But that’s not what a Burns Night is today.”

The celebration slated for this month will include a traditional Scottish dinner, graced by Burns’ own poem “Address to a Haggis.” Traditionally, a piper plays as the table receives the haggis — a savory pudding made from “sheep’s pluck” of heart, liver and lungs, mixed with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices and salt, historically cooked in the animal’s stomach, though these days that last step is sometimes left out.

So smitten with this pudding was Burns that he crafted a poem in its honor and, in the bargain, wrote a piece with which he is forever connected.

“I think the thing about Robert Burns Night that most people are intrigued by is the ‘Address to a Haggis,’” said Kleiber, adding that the poem is the preamble to serving the dish. “It’s brought out on a silver tray, cut with a ceremonial knife and then eaten. It’s all very Scottish.”

Which means that it’s a perfect venue for the pipe & drum corps — an ensemble that’s about as Scottish as it gets. Kleiber got involved with the band in 2003, “because of a yellow jacket.”

“I happened to be standing by a booth at the county fair where the Albeni Falls Pipes & Drums was selling tickets to a concert,” she said. “A yellow jacket flew up my dress and stung me and they gave me some ice for the sting.”

Beyond that dramatic introduction, the group also told her they welcomed newcomers and would teach her how to play. Kleiber took them up on the offer and has been piping ever since. With some Scottish blood of her own, she began to experience first-hand the power of the bagpipes.

You either love them or hate them, Kleiber admitted, but, for those who love the combination of an ancient drone with the reedy song of the chanter dancing on top, there is nothing like the sound of bagpipes.

When the 400-year tug-of-war between the Scotland and England came to an end at the Battle of Culloden in 1746, the victorious British put their boot heel on all things Scottish, forbidding the wearing of tartans, speaking the Gaelic language and, especially, the playing of the pipes.

“The bagpipes incited the Scottish clans to go into a frenzy,” Kleiber said. “Because of that, they were considered an instrument of war.”

The pipes still can make the blood rise, as Kleiber learned when she became good enough to start performing with the band. Playing at a naval reunion at Farragut, held just a couple of years after 9-11, she felt the full force of the instrument’s power to touch the soul.

“When we played ‘Amazing Grace,’ people stood up and started crying,” the piper said. “When you see something like that, it takes every ounce of strength you have to stayed focused on playing your instrument.”

The bagpipes will take a star turn at the Robert Burns Night event, which also will include “toasts to the lads and lassies” delivered in poetry form, readings of Burns’ work, performances of the Highland Fling and Sword Dance and an after-dinner “ceilieh” — basically a Contra Dance where participants dance in sets or lines to Scottish music.

And if you’re thinking that some rudimentary knowledge of Robert Burns might be a prerequisite for attendance, consider the fact that you already know some of his work.

“He’s all over the place,” said Kleiber. “The book titles ‘Of Mice and Men’ and ‘Catcher in the Rye’ are phrases taken from Robert Burns poems. Abraham Lincoln was a huge fan and memorized a lot of his poems.

“But the most famous one and the thing most people are familiar with,” she added, “is our New Year’s Eve song, ‘Auld Lang Syne,’ which is associated with a Robert Burns poem.”

Robert Burns Night: A Traditional Scottish Celebration, will take place from 5-8 p.m. on Sat., Jan. 27, at the Heartwood Center, located at 615 Oak St., in Sandpoint.

Cost for the event is $42 per person and seating is limited. Tickets may be purchased by e-mailing band manager Janelle Starr at: bjrstarr@gmail.com

For more information about Albeni Falls Pipes & Drums or to inquire about joining the band, visit online albenifalls.org.