If you enjoy Scottish poetry and song 鈥� not to mention a bit of friendly competition 鈥� Simon Fraser University has just the thing for you.

SFU, famous for its world class pipe band, will celebrate all things Scottish on Friday, Jan. 25, with a Robert Burns Day marathon poetry recitation and world record attempt.

The second annual event will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the university鈥檚 Harbourview campus in Vancouver.

Last year, SFU hosted a four-hour, 12-minute and 27-second long poetry reading to set a world record. This year, they hope to build on that success by having even more speakers and singers work to extend that time 鈥� whether reciting by heart or reading from a volume of Burns鈥� poetry.

Breaking out his best Scottish accent for the event and co-sponsoring it through his business, Auldcountry Tours, this year, is 91原创 teacher James Johnson.

Though he didn鈥檛 participate in last year鈥檚 recital at SFU, Johnson liked what he heard about the event, which he said drew between 200 and 300 people.

鈥淭hey said, 鈥楲et鈥檚 try to do something different than the traditional dinner 鈥� the haggis and the piping 鈥攍et鈥檚 do recitation of poetry.鈥欌��

Among those scheduled to participate this year are Christopher Gaze 鈥� artistic director of Bard on the Beach 鈥� and Teresa Margaret King 鈥� a descendent of the Scottish poet.

Johnson, who graduated from SFU in 1995, isn鈥檛 sure yet what he鈥檒l recite.

鈥淪ome of Robbie Burns鈥� work is incredibly difficult to read,鈥� he said.

鈥淢aybe (I鈥檒l pick) the easiest one I can . . .

or maybe I鈥檒l find the longest, most difficult one and just go for it,鈥� he laughed.

鈥淚鈥檒l probably come with a couple prepared.鈥�

There is plenty of material to choose from and 鈥� potentially 鈥� five hours to fill with Burns鈥� poetry, but Johnson expects to hear a few favourites 鈥� To A Mouse, perhaps 鈥� more than once.

鈥淚t will be quite fun hearing different interpretations of the same poem,鈥� he said.

Although his own heritage is not Scottish (his wife, Kim鈥檚, is) Johnson knows a thing or two about the culture.

The couple and their three children spent a year in Edinburgh as part of a teaching exchange in 2009-10, and fell in love with the country and its people.

鈥淚t was a beautiful year,鈥� he said.

鈥淎s a family, we鈥檝e always had a connection to the UK, Ireland and Scotland in particular.鈥�

During the SFU event, the plan is to connect with friends in Edinburgh via Skype, said Johnson.

For more information, go to scottish.sfu.ca and click on the event link on the right side of the page.

To register as a participant in the event, email tbarker@sfu.ca.

SFU鈥檚 Harbourview campus is located at 515 West Hastings St. in downtown Vancouver.