Arbroath Abbey Action Group has struck up a bond with a US Tartan Day society.
The Angus group wrote a letter to the organisers of a series of Stateside festivals ahead of Tartan Day on April 6.
The move was part of a mission to put Arbroath and its abbey on the international tourism map, cashing in on connections between the Declaration of Arbroath and the US Declaration of Independence.
During their own celebrations, the National Tartan Day Society of Washington State read out the group’s greeting at a ceremony for members.
In a letter of response the society thanked its Arbroath counterparts for reaching out across the Atlantic.
It read: “A group of about 90 Scottish-Americans gathered at Olympia, the Washington State capitol, to observe Tartan Day on April 6.
“The greeting you sent from the Arbroath Abbey Action Group to the National Tartan Day Society of Washington State was read out by our chairperson, Fran McGregor, and was well received by those in attendance.
“It was windy at Olympia this past weekend and we were happy to know that our big Saltire flew from Friday to Monday together with the Stars and Stripes and the flag of Washington State.
“This scene demonstrated once more the very close relationship which exists between Scotland and the United States a relationship we would very much like to further, working with the Arbroath Abbey Action Group.”
The response has delighted members of the non-political action group, whose efforts to forge links abroad received special praise from First Minister Alex Salmond earlier this month.
Chairman Harry Ritchie said: “The Washington State society is fairly big, so we are pleased to get a response. They meet every year and they claim to have the largest saltire in the world, which they had specially made.”
Copies of the Arbroath group’s letter also went to the New York Times and the New York Daily News, as well as the organisers of New York Tartan Week.