Posts for October, 2023

Visit Grantown during the first weekend of December to celebrate Christmas.

Shop in the outdoor Christmas Market, High Street full of independent stores and an art and craft fair at the Museum.

Vote for your favourite Christmas tree at the Christmas Tree Festival – always a very popular activity!

This year the event goes into the early evening when the Christmas lights light up the town.

The Autumn Festival in the Braes of Glenlivet offers something for everyone. Explore the fascinating history of Scalan Mills & Seminary, which will be open from 1:00pm- 4:00pm and then join us at the hall from 4:00pm for apple pressing and apple games, spooky crafts, soup and home baking. Mark Johnston, Head Ranger at Glenlivet Estate will lead a easy family friendly wildlife dusk walk at 4:30pm where you can learn all about the animals that live on Glenlivet Estate.

Storyteller Nana Tumova will enchant us with seasonal and celestial stories around a campfire from 5:30pm and again at 6:30 pm. Nana is an acclaimed Traditional Oral Storyteller and a nature connection guide. She loves stories of the wild, and her favourite place to tell them is out on the land. She is the creator of the Story Apothecary Podcast, where she dispenses stories as medicine. If you would like to attend the storytelling, please arrive a few minutes before each session.

As day turns to night, our local astronomy group will host telescope and stargazing sessions for all ages and abilities. Come along for an introduction to the constellations, enjoy a laser guided sky tour or try out our community telescope. If it is cloudy on the night there will be an indoor presentation in the hall.
All events are free and are on a drop-in basis and are open to all (apart from the wildlife dusk walk) that can be pre-booked in advance for free at Eventbrite.

Every Thursday from 9pm, come and join us for a lively ceilidh band from Inverness and Speyside. The band has played throughout the UK and Europe, whilst having residencies in Aviemore – which has allowed them to flourish and build a great repertoire of entertaining material. Weaving together traditional ceilidh music with funk, ska beats and anything in between.

Live Entertainment in the Lounge Bar with Ann & Calum

Our last market of the season – lots of locally produced food, drink, crafts and gifts. Come and have a mooch around our wonderful wares – there will be Christmas gifts ideas and delicious treats in abundance!

The most magical time of year wouldnt be complete without a trip to a Christmas Market, so join us for Boat of Garten’s popular Christmas Market here at the Community Hall.

Enter our Winter Wonderland and shop local and support the best of our local businesses, crafters and charities.

The Hall will be providing a BBQ, hot and cold drinks, home baking and some mulled drinks too to warm you up.

Tables are already starting to go, so if you have products you would like to sell at our market, get in touch – 01479 831123

After the success of our annual Christmas Fayre last year, we’re delighted to be hosting it again in 2023.

Each year as winter draws in around the Cairngorms, its mountains and forests turn into a magical winter wonderland. So what better place to host a cosy Christmas market than nestled amongst the Narnia-like pines at Badaguish?

This year we are delighted to have an alpaca walk, come and meet the alpcas! We have over 35 stalls with a wide variety of gift ideas from local crafters and producers. From food and drink to Christmas homeware, something for everyone.

There will be hot food and drinks along with activities for the children before they meet Santa.

All the stallholders donate an item for our charity raffle, so lots of great prizes to be won on the day!

Our popular Christmas market returns this November. With over 70 of Perthshire’s finest arts, crafts and food stalls gathering in the ballroom and courtyard, it’s bigger than ever – what better way to start your Christmas shopping?

The Castle will be dressed for Christmas, the restaurant & gift shop filled with festive delights, and with ample parking, it’s a great family day out for all.

Join us in Abernethy Forest for a behind the scenes masterclass with Cairngorms Connect Venison.

• Cairngorms Connect deer stalkers will talk about the methods, equipment, ethics, and sustainability of deer stalking for conservation management and will give a hands on demonstration of lardering the deer.
• A local butcher will then teach us about preparing all the different cuts of meat and what they are best used for, and you can even have a go yourself.
• We will then relocate to the tepee at the Dell of Abernethy for a live cooking demo over the fire by a local professional chef. Discover creative venison dishes and different ways to incorporate venison easily into our diet.
• And finally, we’ll share a meal of delicious dishes at a long communal table.

This event is being filmed and footage from it will feature as part of a new five-minute film produced by Cairngorms Connect about Deer Management that will be available online and screen at public events later in the year. The filming will be low key and will not distract from the event itself.

Video and photo release forms will be provided at the event, but please be aware that if you do not wish to be filmed we’d recommend attending a future Venison Masterclass event instead.

It is important that all people have equal access to Cairngorms Connect events.

We are happy to provide for your requirements, wherever possible eg. BSL interpreters, off-road wheelchairs, adapted bikes etc. If have any accessibility requirements, please get in touch.

Cairngorms Connect is excited to welcome you back to our free outdoor festival celebrating local forests and sustainable local food.

We’ve got a whole host of exciting activities planned for people of all ages and abilities, from guided walks to cooking demonstrations:

• Learn about the importance of deer management to restore local forests while enjoying a free BBQ with wild Cairngorms Connect Venison and other local, foraged, and gathered produce.
• Discover new ways to incorporate local food into your everyday meals with simple and inspiring cooking demonstrations from Scottish food expert Catriona Frankiti.
• Explore nearby Dell Woods on a guided walk with woodland and wildlife experts from NatureScot and learn more about how our local forests are managed to provide benefits for people and nature.
• Immerse yourself in the folklore and stories of the forest with Sarah from Strathspey Storywalks.
• Join in the many family-friendly games, crafts and activities throughout the day.
• And more to be announced soon!

Hill to Grill is an outdoor event, taking place in tents and on the Playing Field behind Nethy Community Centre, so please dress appropriately.

The event area is accessible for wheelchair users and buggies, but the grassy ground could be a little rough in places so please take care.

Hill to Grill is completely free and there is no need to book, but why not click ‘Going’ on our Facebook event so we can make sure we have enough burgers for everyone!