Islay Festival of Malt and Music 2011: 20 to 29 May 2011

The Islay Festival has been running since the mid 1980's, and is dedicated to promoting Gaelic and Scottish culture and music to locals and visitors alike.

The Festival is held in the last week of May every year, with ceilidhs, dances, recitals, children's workshops; there is something for everyone.

For the last number of years all of the Islay distilleries have held open days throughout the week of the festival, adding to the mix!

Come along and enjoy a week long celebration of music and all that Islay has to offer.

Orkney Folk Festival 2011: 26 to 29 May 2011

Celebrating its 29th year, the Orkney Folk Festival has, once again, secured a wide and varied line-up of local and visiting acts alike. Bigger names for 2011 include Four Men and a Dog, Session A9, Emily Smith, Saltfishforty, Daimh, Box Club and The Chair, however the delight of the festival's informal sessions and workshops is that you can often get as swept away by a relative "unknown". Stromness is very much the centre of the action, although some events do take place in Kirkwall and around the islands, but accommodation throughout the county tends to get fill up very quickly. With something for everyone - from those who quietly like to contemplate the music, to those that like to throw themselves into dancing to it, informally or ceilidh-style - the programme offers a mix of concerts, ceilidhs, informal sessions, workshops and talks.

Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival: 20 to 29 May 2011

Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival is a much cherished mainstay of the regions arts and events calendar. Established in 1979 with a view to bring world-class artists to a mainly rural area, it has grown in confidence and scale year on year. The nine-day family-friendly multi-arts festival boasts everything from theatre, dance and music to literature, film and art. Events are being held this year across the region in theatres, village halls, cafés, and an ice cream visitor centre. It offers a unique opportunity to see a wide variety of music, dance and theatre, whilst enjoying the region's great open spaces in one Scotland’s most rural landscapes.

Acts revealed so far include:

• The Great Big Gilbert and Sullivan Show, from Opera Wow!


• Folk legends Dick Gaughan, Chris Stout and Catriona McKay


• The Scottish Chamber Orchestra present an evening of popular classics


• The Tim Kliphus Trio’s own take on Gypsy Jazz


• Lockerbie Unfinished Business; David Benson’s dramatization of Jim Swire’s struggle to find the truth behind the Air Disaster


• Scotland's new Makar, Liz Lochhead

New this Year is “Streets of Dumfries”, an outdoor arts carnival in town centre Dumfries featuring Skerryvore and Orkestra Del Sol, The Horn Dog Brass Band, and The Hidden Orchestra, takes place on Sat 21 May.

For the full programme see http://www.dgartsfest.com/, alternatively, call 01387 260 447 for a free brochure. Tickets go on sale April 16th online or from the Midsteeple Dumfries 01387 253 383.

The Perth Festival of the Arts: 18 to 29 May 2011

The Perth Festival of the Arts was founded in 1972, and is an annual 11 day May Festival. The festival will take place various venues such as in Perth Concert Hall, Perth Theatre and St John's Kirk.

The Perth Festival of Arts intends to celebrate its 40th birthday by staging some world-class events with an international flavour with artists coming from the USA, Denmark and Russia as well as the UK.

The Festival covers many art forms from classical music and opera to comedy, rock, folk and the visual arts.

The Grampian Transport Museum: A Treasure House of Transport History

The Grampian Transport Museum a living museum that probes the past, present and even the future. Through dramatic displays, working exhibits and video presentations, you can trace the history of travel and transport in the locality. An example of some fascinating oddities on exhibition is the American "barn find" in its pre-restored state, set in a simulation of the barn. Other exhibits are still more varied. Near an example of the ill-fated Sinclair C5 is a giant six wheeled Grampian Region snowplough complete with a remarkably intimidating blade on the front. For those who like to touch as well as look, a number of the vehicles, including buses, trams and a traction engine, can be boarded. You can even climb aboard a genuine penny farthing, well secured to avoid accidents, or drive computer simulated vehicles. There are also many scheduled events throughout the season, Click here to see the schedule.

Highland & Islands Music and Dance Festival: 28 April to 1 May 2011

The Highlands and Islands Music and Dance Festival has developed into one of Scotland’s major arts festivals, and takes place annually in Oban, Scotland. The festival began in 1984, when its aims were to encourage young talent to participate in and develop the traditional arts of music and dance of the highlands and islands of Scotland. Since then the event has developed to include new special events and competitions, and the festival now offers over 1100 participants 125 competition classes in twelve disciplines including piping, accordion, fiddle, clarsach, piano, recorder, woodwind & brass, singing, Scottish country dancing, highland dancing and choreography. In addition to the many competition classes, the festival hosts a number of special events annually, including:

• The Highlands and Islands Fiddle and Accordion Masters featuring prize-winning fiddle and accordion players from the main competition championships throughout Scotland.


• The Scottish Area Highland Dancing Finals, the culmination of the whole year’s competition circuit, featuring seventeen teams, and the only highland dancing team event to be held in the world!


• The Scottish Choreography Challenge featuring two days of entertainment of the highest standard. Teams of dancers compete for prestigious prizes using innovative dance routines incorporating traditional highland dancing steps, sound and lighting effects, dazzling costume and scenery.


• Festival Parade - A fine spectacle, with pipe bands marching through Oban for the enjoyment of residents and visitors.


• The Concert of Champions which presents winners from the competitions in a musical variety show of very high quality, followed by the Festival Fling, when competitors, family and friends dance into the wee small hours to a traditional Scottish dance band.

Ticket Sales and info. telephone 07510 841198 or visit http://www.obanfestival.org/

Carmichael Farm Shop and Visitor Centre Easter Eggstravaganza: 24th April 2011

Carmichael Farm Shop and Visitor Centre Easter Eggstravaganza

Meet our hoppy Easter Bunny for another exciting Easter Egg Challenge around Bunny Wood!

Whether you want to enter into the Easter Egg Challenge, or perhaps Easter Egg Painting Competition, you’ll be sure to have an entertaining day out.

There is also Archery for ages 6+, a wax model museum, an adventure playground, animals, and much more!

Reaper - Floating museum to visit Moray & Banffshire: 8 to 20 May 2011

A CLASSIC fishing boat turned museum is embarking on a North-east coast of Scotland early this summer.

Reaper, a beautiful sailing herring drifter, is one of Scotland’s most famous boats, and returns to Banffshire during May on a short visit. There will be guided tours while she is tied up in Macduff and Gardenstown harbours.

Reaper is part of the core collection of the National Historic Fleet, which includes HMS Victory and Cutty Sark.

As part of her 10 day Moray Firth visit, Reaper will arrive in Macduff harbour on Friday May 13. On Monday evening, she will make passage overnight to Gardenstown, and spend Tuesday there.

The Reaper is the last of the big drifters, a survivor of the huge fleets whose catching power led directly to the building of our beautiful fishing villages, like Cullen Seatown, Whitehills, Gardenstown and Crovie.

Now she is a floating museum about the fishing industry of a century ago. During her time in the harbours, she is open to the public. There will four FREE tours a day, and although the visit is primarily aimed at schoolchildren, the boat is also open to groups of adults who wish to book.

Bookings must be made in advance, and the Scottish Fisheries Museum, who own Reaper, expect demand to be high. Contact their access officer, Andrea Sayers, on 01333 310628.

For later visitors, Reaper is also expected to come to Portsoy on the weekend of July 2-3, where she will once again be a star attraction at the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival, among the 100 or so traditional sailing craft.