Despite what the recent glorious spells of warm weather might have us believing, winter is rapidly approaching, but with it comes a host of hot acts and heart-warming events taking place in Inverness.
Do you know what you’ll be doing in 10 weeks time? Putting Christmas wrapping paper in the bin and getting ready to bring in the New Year. That’s quite a scary thought isn’t it? It also makes 2017 seem awfully close. But before you start making plans for next year, there’s a whole lot of fun experiences to be enjoyed in Inverness this year.
One red letter day for the diary is Saturday, December 31 when the year is drawn to a close in spectacular style when the Highland capital stages The Red Hot Highland Fling in the Northern Meeting Park Arena where several big names will compete for your attention.
Topping the bill are The Elephant Sessions, while local and hugely popular band, Scooty and The Skyhooks and multi-award winning folk-rock band Skerryvore will also be a big draw for many.
Fans of The Elephant Sessions don’t have to wait until Hogmanay to see their favourite band play live as they appear at The Ironworks, Inverness on Friday, December 23 along with special guests, Woodenbox and support from Inya.
Winners of Scots trad awards ‘up and coming act of the year 2014’, the Elephant Sessions create a progressive blend of intricate tunes, engulfing guitars, monstrous bass and pounding drums. Already renowned for their breathtaking live shows, the band climb to new heights with the release of their debut album: The Elusive Highland Beauty.
The Hogmanay celebrations will start at 8.30pm when comedian Craig Hill will take to the stage to introduce the acts. It’s the final event of this year’s Inverness Winter Festival which opened earlier this month with the seventh Inverness Street Festival which took place between October 13 and 15.
The next big, must-attend event is the annual Ness Islands Halloween Show, which this year has the theme, Forest of Frights. It takes place on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 October and hundreds of families are expected to dress up their children and join in the fun. Created by council in partnership Eden Court Creative, Arts in Motion and Limelight Event Services, Saturday’s show will start at 6.30pm and Sunday’s show at 5.30pm.
On Saturday, November 5, more big crowds are expected to gather in the Bught Park as the City of Inverness Grand Bonfire and Fireworks Display is staged. This year’s show will start at 7.30pm with the lighting of a giant bonfire which will then be followed by a spectacular 20 minute musical fireworks display staged by the award winning display team from Fireworx Scotland.
The Christmas countdown officially beings on Sunday, November 20 when Santa Claus arrives in the city to take part in a Christmas lights parade. He’ll help Provost Helen Carmichael turn on the Christmas lights at 6pm. Following the switch on, everyone is invited to join Santa and Provost Helen to make their way to the Old High Church on Church Street for the traditional children’s Christmas carol concert, Ding Dong Merrily Old High, which starts at 6.30pm.
For younger members of the family another magical event is the annual Winter Wonderland weekend, which this year will take place from December 16 to 18 when families have a chance to meet Santa and his reindeer in the Whin Park which will be transformed into a magical area thanks to a series of spectacular illuminations. Seeing the look of delight on youngsters faces as they meet Santa and get to see some of his reindeer at close hand, made this experience a highlight of the Winter Festival for toddlers – and their parents and grandparents.
Provost Helen said: “Since our Winter Festival was launched at the end of 2008 it has made a significant contribution towards making Inverness a more enjoyable place to live and provided a significant boost to the local economy by attracting visitors from far and wide to our city. It is wonderful to see just how much enjoyment each of our events generates and to see how much they are appreciated by everybody.
“Every time thousands of spectators decide to wrap up warmly, gather together and have a great time it makes months of effort seem worthwhile. As I am sure everyone appreciates it takes more than a little talent, dedication and imagination to bring outdoor venues like Ness Islands, Whin Park and even the Council HQ Car Park to life on the coldest and darkest of nights. From the BID Street Festival to our much loved Hogmanay Show, I hope that everybody will get a great deal of pleasure experiencing what Inverness has to offer as 2016 comes to a memorable close.”
To find out what’s going on in and around Inverness in the run up to Christmas, make sure you read your copy of Your Weekend each week and check our regular what’s on listings. Alternatively visit
http://invernessfestivals.com/winter08/blog/index.php
The theme of this year’s Ness Islands Halloween Show is Forest of FrightsScooty and The Skyhooks will be performing at The Red Hot Highland Fling in Inverness on HogmanayThe Elephant Sessions will top the bill at The Red Hot Highland Fling
