The Saw Doctors, Julie Fowlis, the Red Hot Chilli Pipers and Seth Lakeman are just four of the acts due to play in Stornoway later this month at the 12th Hebridean Celtic Festival – one of the biggest music events in the Highlands and Islands.
Renowned as an international musical and cultural celebration, the festival has grown year on and year and now attracts over 14,000 festival-goers for the four-day event taking place between July 16 and July 19. And if early signs are correct, this year’s festival is on course to be the biggest yet.
Last month, it was announced that the Stornoway-based festival would be spreading its wings into communities throughout Lewis and Harris. Thanks in part to newly-announced financial support from The Scottish Co-operative, there will be live performances outwith the islands’ capital.
Community performances will be taking place at Breasclete Community Centre on the west side of Lewis and in Seallam! at the southern end of Harris. In addition a new duo series has been put together and further community outreach events are planned. The funding from The Scottish Co-operative will support these initiatives and aid the festival in serving the wider community.
But it is not just music lovers from around the Highlands and Islands who are heading to Stornoway; visitors from seventy countries have bought tickets too.
And a Scottish couple have even arranged their wedding so they can spend their honeymoon at the Hebridean Celtic Festival will join them!
Catriona MacKenzie, the bride to be at this year’s festival said: “My fiancé Clinton and I live in Dunfermline but I’m originally from Point on Lewis, as is my mother. We thought it would be a fantastic way to celebrate our wedding by timing it around this year’s festival. We’ve bought season tickets for our wedding party and at least ten of us will be there for the big blue marquee when the main gigs begin. It should be a wonderful start to married life together.”
Arriving from Hamilton, Ontario in Canada will be Brian Winer, accompanied by three others including his wife Jan. He said: “None of us have any direct relationship to the Outer Hebrides but my wife and I have had a keen interest in all things Scottish for many years. We have attended innumerable Highland Games in Canada and the USA and generally share a common love of Celtic music in all its forms. We have been following the news of the Hebridean Celtic Festival for three or four years on the website and finally decided to plan another trip to Scotland with the Festival the focal point of the trip. It will mean a round trip of almost 10,000 miles and will cost thousands of dollars but it will be worth it to get to this year’s Hebridean Celtic Festival.”
The festival has relied heavily on the internet in attracting a global audience and their independent website data shows people from all over Europe, the USA, Canada, Russia and Japan will be in Stornoway to celebrate this year’s event. They are attracted by four days of family friendly live Celtic music concerts, sessions, and fringe activities.
Caroline MacLennan, the Festival Director said: “The internet is a key driver in our plans to attract a worldwide audience. Our website data also shows we are generating interest in unusual locations such as China, Thailand, Vietnam, Israel and the Lebanon. It’s exciting to see our traditional music and culture appealing to such diverse audiences through modern day technology.”
Related link: hebceltfest.com
