Burns Supper to kick start Speyfest's 25th year
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CELEBRATIONS to mark the 25th anniversary of Speyfest will get underway with a celebration of Scotland's national bard.
The Burns Supper will take place at Baxters Highland Village, Fochabers, on January 25 from 7.30pm.
A three-course meal will be served before dancing to the Speyfest Ceilidh Band. Tickets, pried £25, are on sale from Christie's Chemist in Fochabers or online with details found on Speyfest's Facebook page.
Founder James Alexander said the event – sponsored by Baxters, Speyfruit and Glenmoray – is a great way to kick-start the Fochabers music festival's special year.
Mr Alexander said: "We don't normally hold a Burns Supper but one of the committee noticed that Burns Night this year is on the 25th and it is also our 25th festival, so it seemed a good idea to celebrate.
"We will pay our respects to the bard by having the Toast to the Haggis, but there won't be a long list of speeches. Instead the focus will be on the music and dancing."
The event will raise funds for this summer's festival, which will be one to remember. Early bird tickets are on sale for a few weeks yet for the July 24-26 event, which will feature new acts as well as festival favourites from over the years.
Mr Alexander said: "We were lucky to make a profit last year, which was the first time in a wee while that we've come out on the right side. But we had to tighten our belts quite a bit in order to do that so we were in a good position to look ahead to this anniversary festival."
It means the committee have been able to bring back festival favourites from over the years, as well as acts which are new to the scene.
The idea of Speyfest came after the Fochabers Fiddlers, led by James, played at a Milne's High fundraising gathering at Dipple Farm.
James said: "We went along and performed on the back of a lorry in the courtyard of the farm. It was a nice event and that planted the seed. At that time, bands like Wolfstone and Capercaillie were riding high and I thought we needed to foster that in the local area.
"I mentioned the idea in passing to Fochabers Gala committee member Davie Stewart and a few weeks later he asked if I would expand on the idea to the committee, which was chaired by Roddy Munro."
A Speyfest committee was born and the first festival took place in 1995. James was able to persuade some of his many contacts in the folk music world to come and perform at the first Speyfest and they have never looked back.
That includes Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham, who will be among acts returning to the tented village this July, performing alongside the likes of the Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Duncan Chisholm, The Chair, Tour Bus Fortune and Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5.
Early bird tickets are online at https://speyfest-ltd.ticketlight.co.uk/ or from Christie’s Chemist, Sound and Vision in Elgin and the House of Hair Fashion in Buckie.
