Launching Blas 2006
This year’s Blas Festival is to be launched officially at Inverness’s newest venue, The IronWorks, on Wednesday 16th August.
Over the 9-day festival there will be a total of 43 different events all featuring traditional music of a very high quality, in a variety of venues across the Highlands ranging from Kilmuir in the west to Nairn in the east, Strathy in the north to Strontian in the south.
The festival includes two established networks: the Fèis movement and the Promoters Arts Network, and the community input from those groups is considerable, with at least 200 volunteers involved in running events in their own areas. “This is one of the unique aspects of Blas, together with the use of Gaelic language at every single event” says Arthur Cormack, Director of Fèisean nan Gàidheal, the organisation that runs the festival. “The volunteers involved in both PAN and the local Fèisean work very hard to make each event a success and the festival would not be possible without them.”
Gracing stages throughout the area during the festival will be a veritable galaxy of young and not-so-young stars, including musicians from the area and from places like Cape Breton and Ireland with which the Highlands has strong cultural affinities.
All the indications are that Blas 2006 will surpass the considerable success enjoyed by last year’s inaugural festival. Already hundreds of tickets have been snapped up. Pre-booking of tickets has been much earlier and more lively than last year, helped greatly by the ‘earlybird’ offer introduced this year which provided substantially discounted tickets for those buying early.
Recent confirmation of sponsorship provided by Clydesdale Bank PLC was another fillip for Blas. This allowed the festival organisers to confirm arrangements for this year’s festival and begin to plan for future festivals in the knowledge that much of the necessary funding has been assured. According to Alan Holland, Managing Partner of the Clydesdale Bank's Financial Solutions Centre in Inverness, "Clydesdale Bank are delighted be involved with Blas in supporting 43 events across the Highlands. We share the Blas ideals of traditional values and involvement in local communities".
Blas’s principal intention is to celebrate the traditional music and song of the Highlands and promote interest in and the use of Gaelic. Its role in helping to raise the language’s profile has resulted in a financial award by Bòrd na Gàidhlig. Chief Executive Allan Campbell, wishing everyone involved with Blas every success said ”Blas 2006 is considerably more than the blas (taste) which the title suggests, it is a banquet of traditional and contemporary Highland culture. Festivals like Blas 2006 are vital to the sustainability and growth of Gaelic language and culture that we are all striving to achieve."
Another of the Festival’s objectives is to encourage participation by young musicians from the Highlands. Commenting on this important aspect of Blas, Chairman of The Highland Council’s Education, Culture and Sport Committee, Councillor Andy Anderson said, “The Blas Festival is a great chance for local young musicians to share centre stage with the very best of traditional music talent. We have been delighted with how well received all the Blas events have been since the festival was launched in 2004. I am sure that this year’s event will build on this success and lead to even more exciting opportunities for young musicians to perform in their communities and beyond.”
This year Blas will be concentrated in seven parts of the Highland Council area namely, Caithness, Sutherland, Ross-shire, Lochaber, Badenoch & Strathspey, Nairn and Skye & Lochalsh. Next year, the Festival will be developed to take in Inverness and the surrounding area for Highland 2007: The Year Scotland Celebrates Highland Culture and it is envisaged that Blas will have a significant role in helping to bring this special year to fruition. Vice Convener of The Highland Council, Michael Foxley said, “The programme for Blas 2006 is brilliant. We are continuing to build Blas into a major international festival. 2007 will be even better.” Meanwhile Alison Magee, chair of Highland 2007, said, “Highland 2007 is delighted to support the Blas Festival as it goes from strength to strength each year. Blas meets many of the aims of Highland 2007, the year Scotland celebrates Highland culture, and will be a major element in next year’s exciting programme of events.”
Blas Programme: www.blas-festival.com