Launch Of Blas Festival
Later this week, the curtain rises on Blas, the Highland’s new traditional music festival which promises to be a hugely enjoyable and exciting addition to the cultural life of the area. In this, it’s inaugural year, the Blas Festival stages 36 different performances at around 30 venues throughout the Highlands.
Each event in the Festival programme will feature top quality artistes. Although many of the musicians performing during the Festival have strong connections with the area, some come from places such as Ireland and Cape Breton with which we have strong cultural affinities.
The connection with the latter is particularly apposite given that Cape Breton’s Celtic Colours Festival was the original inspiration for this Festival but while we aim to achieve the vibrancy of Celtic Colours, Blas will develop it own special character reflecting the cultural background of the Highlands. According to Councillor Andy Anderson, Chairman of The Highland Council’s Education Culture and Sport Committee: "We were so impressed with the Celtic Colours Festival on a recent exchange visit to Nova Scotia that we decided that we must develop something similar in the Highlands to harness the formidable and growing talent in traditional music that exists in our area. This festival has the potential to create a significant economic spin off for the Highlands as we know from our research that cultural tourism can prove to have real benefits."
Blas’s principal objective is to celebrate traditional music in the Highlands and promotes interest in and the use of Gaelic. This year Blas will concentrate in five parts of the Highland Council area namely, Caithness and Sutherland, Ross-shire, Lochaber and Skye & Lochalsh. In coming years the Festival will be developed to take in other parts of the Highlands.
Plans to extend and develop the Festival are being geared towards 2007 when the area hosts the Scottish Year of Highland Culture and it is envisaged that Blas will have a significant role in helping to bring this special year to fruition. Council Vice-Convener Councillor Michael Foxley added: "Blas is a hugely significant and very exciting development in the Highland cultural scene. This year’s programme is superb and the Council will continue to work closely with Fèisean nan Gàidheal to develop a major international music festival for the Highland 2007 celebrations."
The programme for Blas 2005 reveals a strong accent on youth with various performances by many of our talented younger generation of artistes, including pupils from Tain Academy and Plockton High School. Also appearing as the ‘Cèilidh Trailers’ at a number of venues will be musicians who are currently associated with the different Fèisean. From the outset Blas was seen as an opportunity to build upon the success of the Fèis movement over the last couple of decades. Given this, particular efforts have been made to ensure that young people from the Highlands play a prominent role in this year’s event and in future festivals. Their participation will help give Blas a fresh and dynamic feel and the young folk themselves will benefit from the festival as a valuable learning experience. Schools in the area have also been offered very favourable rates for groups wishing to attend Blas performances.
Another key feature of the planning of the Festival is the extent to which the Highland community itself has been involved. An invitation was extended to community organisations and cultural event promoters to take an active part setting up Blas. It made sense for Blas to work in co-operation with key individuals and organisations involved in this field, most of which are volunteers, so as to maximise the quality and impact of the festival. The Promoters’ Arts Network, PAN, will be involved, with many of the concerts being promoted by its members, who account for around 150 volunteers.
Blas takes place in venues throughout Caithness, Sutherland, Ross & Cromarty, Skye & Lochalsh and Lochaber, between 2 and 10 September. Further details are available on the dedicated website www.blas-festival.com and from the local promoters.