Highland Homecoming Highlights

Programme Highlights 19th-31st October 2009

From 19 to 31 October all attention for Scotland’s Year of Homecoming will be on the Highlands as the festival atmosphere moves north. Expect a warm Highland Homecoming welcome as locals and visitors enjoy the best of our rich heritage and culture with a programme of over 100 events including spectacular street theatre, music, storytelling and of course our world famous ceilidhs. All of this is happening around Scotland’s Global Impact Conference which will

explore the theory that our small nation did indeed change the world! Enjoy a taste or ‘blas’ of the variety you can expect from Highland Homecoming in our Highlights leaflet and check out www.highlandeventsandfestivals.com for full details.

Bhon 19mh gu 31mh Dàmhair, bidh aire dhaoine ann am Bliadhna an Tillidh Dhachaigh a’ tionndadh chun na Gàidhealtachd agus an Fhèis a’ gluasad gu tuath. Bidh fìor dheagh “bhlas” air gach taobh de Thilleadh Dhachaigh na Gàidhealtachd. Faicibh www.highlandeventsandfestivals.com airson fiosrachadh mionaideach, no rannsaich an leabhran a tha a’ mìneachadh clàr nan tachartasan.

We look forward to seeing you in October! Bidh fàilte chridheil romhaibh anns an Dàmhair! Watercolour Music presents Sruth ri Steall 22nd – 27th October / Dàmhair Location / Àite: Ullapool, Thurso, Lochcarron, Fort Augustus, Ardgour, Inverness

A series of six gigs whirling round the Highlands, celebrating the legendary recording studios Watercolour Music as they move to their brand new home on the shores of Loch Linnhe. Watercolour bands and likeminded souls show Highland music at its best, as they play a musical tag-team across the region with Mary Ann Kennedy and Na Seóid, Findlay Napier and the Bar Room Mountaineers, the John Goldie Band and the Sorren MacLean Band all joining in.

Ticket price / Tigeadan: £7-£15 www.watercolourmusic.com

Teatr Biuoro Podrozy present Macbeth: Who is that Bloodied Man? 19th October / Dàmhair Location / Àite: Eden Court Theatre, Inverness

Using their trade-mark stilts, fire and music, Polish theatre company, Teatr Biuro Podrozy bring a visually captivating interpretation of the classic Scottish play. Based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth it tells of human fate determined by destiny and inner necessity. Showing the world during the horror of war, the world of nightmares, the world in blood, where it is legal to betray, to intrigue, to kill, it reminds you of the tragic consequence, that crime once committed will be continued, and man’s death is not man’s end – he comes back as fear, remorse and obsession.

This production is a powerhouse of energy and menace. ‘It's a production that shows this magnificent Polish company at its best, and a reminder that large-scale outdoor theatre really can be thoughtful, as well as an eyeful. Lyn Gardner, The Guardian ‘An excellent evocative drama’ Irish Examiner

Ticket price / Tigeadan: £13-£15 www.eden-court.co.uk

Big Man Walking 20th October / Dàmhair Location / Àite: The streets of Invergordon

10,000 years ago a mythical giant fell from the sky to become part of our lives. He helped shape the landscape we live in, and then just as suddenly, he disappeared. Now… the myth is about to return. Early morning commuters will discover a vast seed pod in Linear Park, as a kilted clan of puppeteers arrive to unseal and dismantle his cocoon. When everything is prepared, he will walk around the town and discover who you are.

Ticket price / Tigeadan: FREE / An asgaidh www.highlandeventsandfestivals.com

Margaret Bennett 20th, 21st and 29th October / Dàmhair Location / Àite: Cromarty, Inverness and Skye

Renowned, award-winning Scottish writer, folklorist, singer, broadcaster, lecturer, ethnologist and storyteller Dr Margaret Bennett plays a major role in Highland Homecoming. Throughout the two week celebration, she’ll bring her enthusiasm and broad knowledge of the history and stories of Highland emigrants to audiences around the Highlands and Islands.

Ticket price / Tigeadan: £8-£10 www.highlandeventsandfestivals.com

The Flight of the Arctic Tern by Mark Sheridan 19th – 24th October / Dàmhair Location / Àite: Caol, Skye, Raasay, Inverness, Ullapool, Durness

‘The Arctic Tern migrates farther than any other bird, from the North of Scotland to the southern pack ice of the Antarctic.’ Alexander Gunn left his home in Durness in 1853 en route to Australia, one of the thousands of Scots who left during the Highland Clearances. The journeys were long and hazardous. This is the story of Alexander’s journey, narrated by BBC veteran Iain Anderson, with historical and environmental commentary from Michael Russell, MSP and Minister for Culture. A newly composed musical suite runs throughout the piece to illustrate and support the narrative.

Julie Fowlis 28th October / Dàmhair Location / Àite: Eden Court, Inverness

The sublimely talented Julie Fowlis is not just a multi award-winner, but a passionate torchbearer for the culture of her native Western Isles. Her quiet determination to celebrate the music of the Outer Hebrides on its own terms, ensures that Gaelic music is reaching a wider audience than ever before. Don’t miss the chance to see Scotland’s first ever Gaelic Ambassador/Tosgaire na Gàidhlig performing live in front of a sell out crowd.

Ticket price / Tigeadan: £9-£12 www.eden-court.co.uk

Ticket price / Tigeadan: £8-£10 www.highlandeventsandfestivals.com

An Aifreann Gàidhlig / The Gaelic Mass 30th October / Dàmhair Location / Àite: St. Columba’s Cathedral, Oban

An Aifreann Gàidhlig / The Gaelic Mass is a project which has interested and fascinated Blair Douglas for some years, but one which he has only recently felt equipped, musically and spiritually, to undertake. His Mass is rooted in the Celtic tradition, but seeks to explore and develop differing musical themes. It features a blend of traditional instruments – clàrsach, fiddle, flute and pipes, along with string accompaniment, organ and keyboards. Combining both musical styles, a unique and original work has been created featuring Gaelic singers Paul MacCallum and Maggie Macdonald with the Inverness Gaelic Choir.

Ticket price / Tigeadan: Donations welcome / Tabhartasan a-mhàin www.highlandeventsandfestivals.com

Exhibition Highlights Wanderings with a Camera the photography of Erskine Beveridge 5th – 30th October / Dàmhair Location / Àite: Eden Court, Inverness

Erskine Beveridge was a talented amateur photographer who travelled widely around Scotland in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Accompanied by his camera, he photographed the landscapes, communities, harbours, archaeological sites and carved stones he encountered, and created a stunning visual account of Scotland. This exhibition highlights the quality and range of Beveridge’s photography, and offers a fascinating insight into a Scotland on the brink of major social and economic change.

Ticket price / Tigeadan: FREE/ An asgaidh www.eden-court.co.uk Eden Court Box Office 01463 234 234 www.eden-court.co.uk

The St Kilda Tapes by David Allison 28th October / Dàmhair Location / Àite: Eden Court, Inverness

After selling out at London’s Barbican Cinema, the Filmhouse Edinburgh and the GFT in Glasgow and successfully touring Ireland and Canada, ‘The St Kilda Tapes’ comes to Inverness. Combining archive film with live music, ‘The St Kilda Tapes’ explores the themes of emigration and home through the experiences, thoughts and voice of Norman Gillies. The audio visual spectacular features two Scottish Screen Archive films, as well as some specially created video and a few other multimedia surprises.

Ticket price / Tigeadan: £7-£8 www.eden-court.co.uk

Precious Cargo Obair-ceàird Alba An-diugh

Leaving Home

19th – 31st October / Dàmhair

Location / Àite: Inverness Museum & Art Gallery, Inverness

Location / Àite: Eden Court, Inverness

A celebration of craft for the Year of Homecoming, the exhibition takes the theme of migration, boats and the sea. A series of ‘cargo’ boxes, created by Glasstorm of Tain, each open to reveal a unique ‘souvenir’ evocative of the Highlands – the precious cargo of the title created by the best of Highland and Scottish makers.

Ticket price / Tigeadan: FREE/ An asgaidh Eden Court Box Office 01463 234 234 www.eden-court.co.uk

19th – 31st October / Dàmhair

Leaving Home is an exciting, interactive exploration of emigration and immigration from and to the Highlands during the late 1800s, after the First World War, in the 1960s, and today.

Ticket price / Tigeadan: FREE/ An asgaidh

Scotland’s Global Impact

Buaidh Chruinneil na h-Alba

How one small nation changed the world!

Mar a dh’atharraich aon dùthaich bheag an saoghal!

Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, Scotland. 22-24 October 2009 This October, more than 30 leading historians from half-a-dozen countries, will come together in Inverness to discuss and debate Scotland’s impact across the globe and to contest that our small nation did indeed change the world!

This unprecedented event will reveal much about the people of Scotland, exploring why they left their country over many centuries and unravelling the huge impact this small nation and its people have had on the rest of our planet.

s) & Time (Herald squest © New

© Scottish Life Archive, National Museums of Scotland

Scotland’s Global Impact, to be opened by First Minister Alex Salmond and chaired by broadcaster Lesley Riddoch, promises to be exciting, entertaining and educational.

© Newsquest (Herald & Times)

Conference fees are £50 per day. Discounts are available for group bookings. Conference delegates can also enjoy tours of Culloden and Fort George and receive the special offer of 2 for 1 access to any Highland Homecoming event between 19 and 31 October.

Further information is available at: www.scotlandsglobalimpact.com Principal Partners / Prìomh luchd-taice

Major Partners / Le taic bho

In Kind Partners / Le taic bho

Event Partners / Le taic bho

Design by dynam, Inverness / Poem verse by George Gunn, Caithness / Eadar-th – Uisdean MacIllInnein