Burns Club Atlanta 100 members. Following club tradition, membership is only open to males. However, non-member male and female guests are frequent and many and are welcome by invitation. Monthly meetings in the Atlanta Burns Cottage feature readings from Burns’ works and various lectures given by visiting scholars, authorities and members. Previous lecturers include Atlanta author Margaret Mitchell and Scottish entertainer and goodwill ambassador, Sir Henry Lauder. Monthly meetings are noted for relaxed companionship and spirited, yet informal, discussion. Every meeting concludes with the traditional Scottish farewell observance of “circling up” and singing “Auld Lang Syne.” The Burns Club of Atlanta retains the
America the Beautiful the namesake of the Shining Sea Bikeway, a bike path in Bates's hometown of Falmouth, Massachusetts. The phrase is similar to the Latin phrase """" ("From sea to sea"), which serves as the official motto of Canada. "Purple mountain majesties" refers to the shade of the Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which inspired Bates to write the poem. Lynn Sherr's 2001 book "America the Beautiful" discusses the origins of the song and the backgrounds of its authors in depth. The book points out that the poem has the same meter as that of "Auld Lang Syne"; the songs can