Posts for June, 2026

Step back to 1745 and experience the sights, sounds and stories of the Jacobite Rising as Jacobites and Redcoats descend on Braemar Castle for a weekend of living history and action-packed battles.

Join us for a spectacular weekend as Jacobite and Redcoat reenactors bring history to life with authentic camps, military displays, living history demonstrations and thrilling skirmishes throughout the day.

Get up close to the action, explore the castle, meet the characters of the past and discover the stories behind one of Scotland’s most dramatic chapters.

Set against the stunning backdrop of Braemar Castle and the Cairngorms, this is the perfect excuse for a Highland day out!

Please note: Last entry to the castle is 4:30pm

Mesmerizing folk duo Ordinary Elephant has spent the better part of the last decade on a never-ending tour that’s earned married couple Crystal and Pete Damore widespread critical acclaim and made fans of luminaries like Tom Paxton and Mary Gauthier. In 2017, the pair took home the International Folk Music Award for Artist of the Year on the strength of their breakout album, Before I Go, and two years later, they returned with the similarly lauded Honest, which the Associated Press hailed as “one of the best Americana albums of the year.” The duo hasn’t slowed down, earning consecutive International Folk Music Award nominations for Album of the Year in 2024 for their self-titled release, and then Artist of the Year in 2025.

This latest eponymous record is the purest distillation of their sound yet, showcasing the arresting power of the couple’s gorgeous harmonies and intricate fretwork. The songs are timeless, rooted in rich, character-driven storytelling, and the performances are similarly transportive, fueled by delicately intertwined banjo, guitar, and octave mandolin. Though the songs were born out of a period of deep uncertainty, the record itself is a work of profound self-assurance, one delivered by a duo whose personal and professional lives embody the limitless possibility of honest, organic collaboration. Press play on Ordinary Elephant, or attend a live performance, and you’ll hear more than just a husband and wife; you’ll hear the sound of sincerity and commitment, of patience and gratitude, of learning to let go of expectation and revel in the simple beauty of the moment.

“This is the kind of music that lingers long after the last note fades.”
— Red Line Roots

“Two become one, in song. Stripped down, intertwined clawhammer banjo and guitar, and hand in glove harmonies surprise the listener with focused intensity and musical mastery. Songs are pouring out of them, and I suspect their rise will be steady. I’m a fan.”
— Mary Gauthier

“…beautiful, soulful, exquisitely simple, and totally essential.”
— Ben Salmon, Bandcamp Daily

“I’m a big fan of Ordinary Elephant—their intimate songs, the weaving harmonies, and the stories that draw you in as if you were gathered around an enchanted campfire.”
— Eliza Gilkyson

“[Their] songs speak, heal, and we need them more than ever.”
— Donald Cohen, No Depression

A short talk on the rare Small Scabious Mining Bee, followed by a guided walk to local nesting sites. Learn about its habitat and food plants, and how you can help support it. Each attendee will receive free Devil’s-bit Scabious plant plugs to take home and support the Bees main food source.

As part of our Bikeathon weekend, we will be holding our popular jumble sale again. We have a good selection of bikes and things bike related to sell.

Pop along any time from 11am to 2pm to browse the items, or just to hang out and chat bikes.

If you have something to sell, please bring it along from 10am.

We will also be running bike safety checks there, so bring your bike along to get Bikeathon ready!

All money riased go directly to the charities CRY and Mikeysline.

Join acclaimed Strathspey musician and composer Hamish Napier for an immersive day delving into top trad tunes, arrangements, and creativity. This daytime weekend workshop is designed for players who want to deepen their skills and explore traditional Scottish tunes in a welcoming group setting.

10.30am – 4.30pm

We will focus on:

🎵 Expanding your trad session tune repertoire
🎶 Learning a few cracking local tunes from Badenoch & Strathspey
🎻 Exploring ornaments and variations to bring melodies to life
🎼 Learning how to arrange music for small folk ensembles

Open to adult instrumentalists (ages 16+) with some experience in traditional music. Suitable for both by-ear players and readers (those who can read a little music). Players of all melody instruments (e.g. fiddle, flute, whistle, accordion, etc.) and accompaniment instruments (e.g. guitar, piano) are welcome!

Calling writers – and anyone who’d simply like to give writing a go.

These relaxed and welcoming workshops invite you to spark stories from the remarkable objects and spaces of the Highland Folk Museum.

A lantern, a pair of boots, a cooking pot, an old tool… everyday objects that once belonged to real lives. Each month we’ll explore a small selection from the museum’s collection or surroundings and use them as starting points for imagination.

From there, the writing can go anywhere.

Stories, poems, memoir, drama, humour, fantasy – there are no rules about genre, subject or style, and no expectation to write about history or the Highlands unless you want to.

The objects are simply doorways into creativity.

Calling young writers, storytellers, and curious imaginations – or anyone who’d like to give writing a try.

These fun and welcoming workshops invite young people to spark stories from unusual objects and places around the Highland Folk Museum.

A lantern, a pair of boots, an old shinty stick, a mysterious tool… everyday objects that might hold hidden stories. They’re simply starting points for the imagination.

From there, anything is possible.

Participants might write stories, poems, comedy, drama, fantasy, or something completely unexpected. The writing doesn’t need to be about history or the Highlands – the objects are just creative sparks.

A community gathering bringing together local creatives inspired by the theme ‘ROOTED’, bringing together artists, makers, and musicians to share creative responses to the landscapes and communities around us.

Artists will share their work in 10-minute slots, speaking about process, inspiration, environment, and the stories held within their work. The evening will also feature live music woven throughout the programme, helping create an atmospheric and reflective space for conversation and creativity.

Whether you come to exhibit, speak, perform, listen or simply spend an evening surrounded by creativity and conversation, we would love to welcome you.

This free, family-friendly event is open to everyone and will feature performances by pupils of St. Maksymilian Maria Kolbe Polish Community School in Aviemore and by the Polish Folk Dance Group “Parzenica”, as well as bouncy castles, face painting, fire truck, arts and crafts, a circus workshop, a children’s art exhibition, local business stalls, a bake sale and raffle.
The event will take place on Sunday, 7th June 2026, from 12pm to 4pm at the Peregrine Suite of Macdonald Aviemore Resort. It is part of Polish Heritage Days, an annual UK-wide festival celebrating Polish culture, history and the contribution of the Polish community to British society.

Uisge Spè [River Spey]: Where Water Shapes a Nation, by Ed Smith. Exhibition launch evening at Eleven41 Gallery, Kingussie.

‘Uisge Spè’ is a long‑term photojournalistic study of one of Scotland’s most important rivers, tracing its 170‑kilometre course from the Monadhliath Mountains, through the central and eastern Highlands to the Moray Firth. Supported by The Cairngorms Trust, this is the first public launch of the exhibit, which will then move through at least four other venues within the River Spey catchment over the coming months.

More than a scenic backdrop, the Spey is portrayed as a living system where environment, culture, industry, and history converge. The project explores how climate change, fluctuating water levels, and land management threaten salmon, settlements, and whisky production, even as local communities and conservationists fight to protect its biodiversity. It examines the river’s role in shaping identity and belonging, from local students to global whisky branding, and connects visible historical traces to ongoing struggles over land, labour, and power. Through sustained, seasonal visual reporting and multiple canoe descents of the river, the work reveals the Spey as a microcosm of global tensions between heritage and globalisation, economic survival and environmental responsibility.