SCOTLAND’S largest rural performing arts festival is celebrating its 40th anniversary of bringing a vast range of entertainment to the Scottish countryside.
The Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival, which opened yesterday, will entertain the public with up to 200 performances and artistic displays over 10 days.
Visitors will be able to explore as many as 94 artists’ studios and watch an array of performances taking place throughout the region.
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Some 50 spectacles involving dance, comedy, theatre, music and spoken word will be hosted in local theatres, villages and town halls, arts centres and pubs. Highlights will include award-winning comedian Lucy Porter and folk legends Martin and Eliza Carthy. Impressive shows will also be on display including a comic ode bringing to life a full Viking burial through a combination of storytelling and live music.
There will also be 15 workshops and masterclasses available.
Dani Rae, the event’s director, said: “It’s a real privilege to present the 40th anniversary of Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival, bringing the best in live performing arts to one of the most glorious parts of the world, a festival which has been part of the creative life blood of the region since 1979.”
The event will allow locals to enjoy top-class events on their doorstep. Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival takes high-quality performances to some of the most remote areas of the country, and is a fantastic example of making arts accessible and empowering communities to have a say in what they want to see.
To see what the festival has to offer, check out the programme by going to www.dgartsfestival.org.uk.
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