Posts for June, 2026

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.

Meet at The Grantown Hub at 7pm. Six venues – a complimentary drink at each one. Last stop is the Ben Mhor Hotel which has traditional music being performed. Costumed tour guides and local dramatic incidents acted out at each location. Dressing up entirely optional but feel free to join in the fun by donning anything reminiscent of the last two centuries! An award will be presented for the best costume.

Meet at The Grantown Hub (2 High St.) for 7pm. A complimentary drink at each of the six venues. Costumed tour guides and local dramatic incidents acted out at each location. Prepare to learn lots of things you didn’t know about Grantown and its characters. Dressing up is entirely optional, but feel free to join in the fun! An award will be presented for the best costume and a free prize draw is included.

A Coffee Morning with a difference as you are serenaded by the stars of Strathfest 26 music festival. What is not different is that you will be spoilt with your favourite cuppa and delicious fresh bakes of every description! Entry by donation.

Join us for a showing of the movie The Mastermind
Licenced bar & snacks available. Tickets available to buy online (preferred).
Parking either on the street outside the YMCA or there are 2 small public car parks within a minute’s walk.