Cultural Activities

Where We Are >> Cultural Activities

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Current dates of events, festivals etc. are on News & Offers (menu above), and websites on External Links.

Arts Festivals

Gael Force (Aug to Oct)

Incredibly diverse, "a storm of arts & entertainment", impossible to pin down in a short space. Here's just a glimpse of its huge scope: "From blues music on the Solway shore to off-the-wall cabaret, from tango weekends to new writing nights, from kinetic sculpture to a brand-new beer festival."

Wigtown Book Festival (end Sept)

Right up there in the national league of top events alongside the Hay-on-Wye festival (but not sponsored by The Guardian, so the emphasis is more cultural and less political or politically right-on) - Magnus Magnusson said Wigtown was his favourite book festival in the world. 2008 featured 150 top writers both known and emerging, including Fay Weldon, Michael Morpurgo, Louis de Bernieres, James Kelman and others. The full week's genuinely packed all-day programme includes not only great talks, interviews and panel discussions, but also theatre, music, cinema, street entertainment, a poetry competition, bookmaking, and a full children's programme. For background on Wigtown "Book Town" see Unique Towns.

Lockerbie Jazz Festival (end Oct)

Usually a few top names on the bill, alongside emerging Scottish talents like young tenorman Ben Bryden (father is a first class printmaker in Dumfries), a cohort of Scotland's great saxophonist Tommy Smith who also played at Lockerbie in 2007. The programme is usually late to be fixed, in true improvisational jazz fashion, but see the website from mid Sept onwards.

Kirkcudbright's major art show (summer)

There's an exhibition of national importance every year during the summer months, featuring pictures brought in (mostly) from Scottish museums and other important collections.

"Spring Fling" open studios (late May bank hol.)

Open house for all the region's visual artists, craft/design people and galleries - a great chance to meet and talk to them, and often to watch them at work. It's well organised with a printed brochure, colour-coded area trails and signage.

Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival (late May)

Wide programme embracing music of all kinds (esp. classical and folk/traditional/acoustic), theatre, dance, literary, visual arts, film, and children's events. Some workshops, e.g. creative writing and music, as well as performances. Wide range of venues throughout the region.

Novelist Trails

Buchan, Sayers, others

Music

Theatre

Multi-Use Venues

Lochside Theatre
CatStrand

Art & Craft Galleries

McGill Duncan Gallery, Castle Douglas

Proper little gallery run by the Blamire family, who will happily chat about the artists they show, most of whom they know personally. Intimate spaces, comfy seats, interesting and varied and personal choice of work shown, always of genuine quality - more figurative than abstract, the full gamut of media (drawing, painting, printmaking etc.), and some first rate craft/design. Bottom end of King Street, about 40 yards below the clocktower crossroads.

Kirkcudbright galleries

Our personal picks of the permanent selling galleries are the Whitehouse Gallery and the High Street Gallery, both of which pull in work from top Scottish artists. The Tolbooth also hosts some good shows (quality varies from top class to merely competent). See the Artists' Town website for more.

Gardens & Gardening

Add the following as links to Galloway Tour:
Whithorn
Architecture (abbeys)
Naturalist Country - wildlife and natural history in Galloway

More to do do do

Like to talk?

So do we. Ring us:
01556 502211
From abroad:
+44 1556 502211

holidays@gelstoncastle.com

Gelston Castle Holidays, Gelston, Castle Douglas, Dumfries & Galloway DG7 1SW
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Last modified: Mon Sep 6 12:12:47 2010
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