An Island Odyssey
The ideal place to discover Scotland’s treasure-trove of stories in a lively celebration of storytelling performance exploring the links between Scotland’s rich storytelling heritage and other cultures.
This year the Festival is all about exploring and pursuing the Island experience through story, myth, music, song and dance. Greek and Roman myths mix with sagas of the Celts in a ten day festival of unrivalled opportunity to enjoy the traditions of Scotland’s Islands alongside Mediterranean tale spinners and musicians from Corsica, Sardinia, Malta, Greece and Cyprus.
Envelope yourself in the warm, inviting atmosphere of the Festival, embrace the tales of Olympic proportions, enjoy the intricate footwork of talented dancers, including traditional Greek dance, and bask in the music of the world, from traditional Scottish folk melodies through to Jazz from Sardinia.
The Festival unites the Scottish Isles with the shores and islands of the Mediterranean in an exchange and discovery of cultures and traditions, tracing the story of travel through the famous voyager Odysseus, whose epic expedition is revealed and explored throughout the ten day festival, while old routes are reconnected in the Year of Scotland's Islands with ‘Island Nights’ evenings offering up the best of live entertainment.
The visiting European tellers will join with the best of Scotland’s artists’ right at the heart of Scotland’s Festival City in 10 days of outstanding performance storytelling, as well as embarking on journeys to Shetland, Skye, Bute & Arran, Orkney, the Inner Hebrides and the Outer Hebrides.
Festival events host authentic voices from home and abroad at the hearth of Scotland in free ‘Meet the Storyteller’ sessions. Storytelling performance events are complemented by musical interludes, international dance acts, creative talks and discussions, informal story sharing, film screenings, participative workshops, and an international networking day for storytellers and network members. For the full Festival experience, you can travel onto Scotland’s Islands to continue the journey.
