Highland 2007 launch weekend - update
Issued by Highland 2007
This weekend, 12 and 13 January, sees a host of events taking place throughout Inverness to mark the official launch of Highland 2007, Scotland’s year of Highland culture.
The celebrations begin at 7pm on Friday 12 January with the Highland 2007 Launch and Lifescan Monster Street Party. First Minister Jack McConnell, will officially launch the year with the help of the Mod winning Inverness Gaelic Choir, the Massed Pipes and Drums of the Highlands, a spectacular fireworks display and, announced today, Blazin Fiddles.
As part of the launch of Highland 2007, specially commissioned work by Highland video artist Graeme Roger will be projected on to the windows of the ground floor building on the corner of Bank Street and Bridge Street. This artwork, titled Northern Soul, incorporates film portraits of individuals, as well as imagery collected from throughout the Highlands.
The Lifescan Monster Street Party following on from the Launch features a breathtaking aerial ballet presented by French company Transe Expresse. And it is announced today that a second performance of Transe Expresse will take place on Saturday 13 January in Falcon Square at 8pm.
Everyone is encouraged to continue the Highland 2007 Launch celebrations on Saturday 13 January in Inverness. Events include:
• 9am – 11am: Monster Family Splash at Inverness Aquadome. Tel: 01463 667505 for more details.
• 10am: Inverness Museum and Art Gallery re-opens after a £1.3 million refurbishment. As well as the revamped permanent exhibitions, visitors are invited to the new exhibition Fonn ’s Duthchas – Land and Legacy, brought together for Highland 2007 and at IMAG until 17 March.
• 11am: Old New Year Shinty Match, Bught Park. Continuing the Highland tradition of New Year shinty matches, Glen Urquhart and Strathglass compete for the Gaidhealtachd 2007 Cup.
• 1pm: Duthchas:The Legacy. Eastgate Shopping Centre hosts a mini exhibition on contemporary Highland culture, from the national exhibition Fonn ’s Duthchas.
• 8pm: Transe Expresse aerial ballet, Falcon Square.
All Highland 2007 Launch events are suitable for all ages. Many of the events are out of doors so please dress for the weather.
For more information about Highland 2007 please visit www.highland2007.com
Ends
For more information contact Julie Corbett on 01463 702007or 07766 028899, or Alison Bell on 07733 123037.
Editor’s notes
1. To create an event arena for the Highland 2007 Launch and Lifescan Monster Street Party, the city centre will be closed to all traffic from 6.30pm for the duration - please allow sufficient time to travel to the event. Please see attached Highland Council press release and www.highland2007.com for full details of all road closures and parking restrictions. Best viewing areas for the Highland 2007 Launch are on the west side of the River Ness (same side as Eden Court) on Huntly Street, Ness Walk and Young Street.
2. Highland 2007, the year Scotland celebrates Highland culture, aims to promote the Highlands as a great place to live and to visit through showcasing the unique and special nature of Highland culture past, present and future. The project is a partnership between three principal funding agencies: The Highland Council, the Scottish Executive, and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. The year long celebration of Highland culture in 2007 will incorporate an exciting range of major and community events, as well as capital projects and ‘The Highland Promise’ for young people. See www.highland2007.com for full details. Highland 2007 is the first themed year planned by the Scottish Executive to promote Scotland as a great place to live and to visit.
3. Production for the Highland 2007 Launch and Lifescan Monster Street Party is by Unique Events Ltd. Unique Events were contracted following a competitive tendering process inviting companies to scope, design and deliver a series of events that would attract international funding to the Highlands as part of the Highland 2007 programme. As a result of their tender, Unique Events have secured significant funding for the region from EventScotland and have been contracted to design and deliver three events for Highland 2007: the Highland 2007 Launch and Lifescan Monster Street Party (12 January), InvernessFest (19-29 July) and The Outsider (22-24 June).
4. Fonn ’s Duthchas – Land and Legacy is a special exhibition brought together to celebrate the year of Highland culture. Drawn from the collections of the National Museums Scotland, National Library of Scotland and National Galleries of Scotland, the exhibition uses iconic objects, paintings and manuscripts to highlight a rich and diverse Highland culture. Highlights include a Lewis Chess piece dating back to the 12th century, the Sir Henry Raeburn portrait of Niel Gow and Major Robert Duncanson’s order for the Massacre of Glencoe.
5. “An t-Seann Bliadhn’ Ùr” (The Old New Year) on 12 January was chosen for the launch event as it marks the end of the old year prior to the change to the Gregorian calendar in the 18th century. For many people in Scotland the end of the old year continues to be held as a special date in the calendar, and it still has a particular resonance across the Highlands and Islands today
6. Background to the Old New Year, 12 January: “In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII had the Julian calendar amended in such a way as to check the slow backward movement of the seasons. The Gregorian calendar was immediately adopted in Catholic countries and slowly in Protestant ones. In Great Britain, the change was not made until 1751, by which time the discrepancy between the Julian and Gregorian calendars amounted to eleven days: but since 1800 was not a leap year, the new and old styles of reckoning now differed by twelve days - i.e. January 1 Old Style became January 13 New Style. The change met with strong opposition from the people, who clamoured for their lost days. Well into the latter half of the nineteenth century, Scottish country folk still kept their festivals by the Old Style reckoning, and in some of the remoter parts of Shetland, the Hebrides, and elsewhere, the custom has not yet entirely died out.“ Ref: The Silver Bough; Scottish Folklore and Folk Belief; F Marian McNeill, 1957; William MacLellan
7. Highland 2007 commercial partners include:
• LifeScan Scotland Ltd - Principal Partner
• Tulloch Homes Ltd and Scottish Co-op - Major Partners
• Royal Bank of Scotland and Clydesdale Bank - Event Partner
• Caledonian MacBrayne / First ScotRail / Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd Macdonald Aviemore Highland Resort– In-kind Partner
• Fionnar Springs / PPD Ltd / EAE Distribution - Suppliers