St Andrews Festival to Light Up Fife

The brightest and best St Andrews Festival will light up the North East of Fife this weekend. This year’s event aims to delight visitors with large scale light and sound installations, plays music, food and the stunning world premier of WILDFIRE! an outdoor medley of music, dance and martial arts.

For the weekend of 28^th to the 30^th November St Andrews will burst into life to celebrate the very best of Scotland and its Patron Saint, in a programme packed with exciting, entertaining and unique events.

The centrepiece will be a series of spectacular Son et Lumiere lighting up the medieval walls of St Andrews. Set to an evocative soundtrack, each installation is themed to reflect different aspects of Scotland’s heritage. The impressive Son et Lumiere performances have been specially commissioned for the event from the country’s most experienced designers who were responsible for illuminating Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s jubilee and providing the impressive backdrop for the Edinburgh Tattoo.

The Festival’s Son et Lumiere sound and light shows, installed in the town’s historical Cathedral and University will be hugely impressive. Based around the journey of Scotland from Ice Age to the present time, the historic journey of St Andrew’s bones to the town and St Andrews position as a medieval centre of pilgrimage. The Son et Lumiere provide an amazing immersive experience of images, music and the spoken word in the open air.

As you would expect the Festival comes to a climax on Monday the 30^th November, St Andrews Day with a traditional pipe band Beating the Retreat in South Street by Holy Trinity leading onto the Nae4 Whimps Street Ceilidh at the West Port with The Lomond Ceilidh Band and a special appearance by Celtic band Saor Patrol.

This will be followed by a torchlight procession behind the pipe band to a secret location for the World Premier of WILDFIRE! an outdoor spectacular for the 21st century which will blend multi-art forms with the myth and magic of Celtic folklore. Wild and visceral in style, and open to the elements, WILDFIRE! is driven by a powerful soundtrack - a hybrid fusion of flamenco, classical and Arabic disciplines with traditional Scottish and contemporary music featuring the haunting sounds of re-constructed bronze-age Celtic horns.

The Festival has over 50 events over the 3 days at venues across the town. It will feature music to suit all tastes from traditional to medieval. St Andrews University Union Market St will host two nights of Trad and Celtic Folk/Rock with some of Scotland’s most exciting young talent including rising stars Bodega, winners of the coveted BBC2 Young Folk Award in 2006 and The Simple Touch hot of the back of Perthshire Amber and a full UK tour supporting Donnie Munroe The bands will be supported by St Andrews own Black Sheep and Soul Food Café.

'A Series of Unfortunate Events - A Musical History of Medieval Scotland' will feature at The Holy Trinity Church South St at 7.45pm on Saturday 28 November. Recently featured in the BBC’s ‘A History of Scotland’, the medieval music specialists Gaita will present a selection of music from the "St Andrews Music Book", performed on reproductions of ancient instruments, along with music from other medieval sources, including the Inchcolm Antiphoner and outside views of Scotland in music from England and France. Woven into the concert is a narrative history of the kings and courts of Scotland.

Dunfermline-born playwright Gregory Burke's debut Gagarin Way will be presented by Incompetent Productions over the weekend in the Barrron Theatre, North St. The play is a slick, thrilling and
darkly hilarious tour of the Socialist Underground.

The Festival also features the 29^th Scottish Comedy Evening staring some of Scotland’s leading comedians, open days at the British Golf Museum, Cathedral and Castle plus a once a year chance to see inside the famous R&A Clubhouse with its historic collection of golfing artefacts, a major power kiting festival, The Island Tapes with David Allison at the New Picture House on Sunday and a Scottish food event hosted by Scotsman Wine writer Rose Murray Brown.

St Andrews Festival organiser Rob Murray Brown told us “We are delighted this amazing performance will feature at our Festival. It will provide a superb closing event for Homecoming Scotland on St Andrew’s Day in St Andrews and will make St Andrews the place to be that day.”

The event’s new website contains the most up to date information. www.standrewsfestival.co.uk.

Perthshire Amber Lights Up the Scottish Autumn

The 10 day Celtic music festival Perthshire Amber opened with a unique concert featuring two of Scotland’s most popular musicians Dougie MacLean and Eddie Reader. Although they have appeared on the bill together at some events they will take the stage together for the first time at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre. This will be the first of 12 concerts at what is fast becoming one of Scotland’s most important music events. The concerts are staged in a variety of wonderful venues from an iron age crannog on Loch Tay, to historic Blair Castle and Castle Menzies and atmospheric Dunkeld Cathedral to the Festival Theatre in Pitlochry.

Thousands of music fans will attend from across the world at what must be Scotland’s friendliest festival with many visitors attending year after year to catch up with the friends they made at previous events. More will be joining online as many of the concerts will be screened live over the Internet.

Some of the world’s top Celtic artists will be performing. Guests include fantastic Irish band Beoga, Australian band Sunas, rising Scottish star Heidi Talbot, favourite tune and songsters Malinky, The Michael McGoldrick Trio, Duncan Chisolm with his a performance of his highly acclaimed ‘Kin’ and a host of Dougie’s musical friends from around the globe. They will me joined by over 200 musicians who will take part in the Festival’s Caberet Amber, open mic and sessions which provide Perthshire Amber with much of its colour and flavour.

Perthshire Amber is the only musical festival hosted and staring on musician and Dougie will feature in eleven of the concerts performing solo, with his band and his trio. He will also play a unique concert with his 1990’s band when they perform his “Indigenous” album live for the first time. The ten day festival runs from October the 30th at venues across Perthshire.

Dougie told us, “We are delighted with this year’s line up for what looks to be the biggest and best Perthshire Amber yet. We have more concerts at more venues with more musicians involved than in previous years. Our biggest step is that we are going to hold a major concert in Perth for the first time. The Caledonia Concert will feature wonderful musicians from five different countries who I have had a connection with over the years. I have been lucky enough to have had my songs recorded by some amazing artists and friends. The Caledonia Concert will feature some of these musicians.”

Some concert tickets are still for sale and details of the event can be found on the Festival’s website at www.perthshireamber.com

Route Sharing Website Launched in Fife

Fife’s walkers and cyclists are sharing some of their favourite routes and pathways through Fife community website smartcommunityfife.org.uk By using the latest technology they are able to upload walks and cycle tracks that you won’t find in guide books.

Fife is already a favourite destination of walkers and cyclists thanks to the Lomond Hills Regional Park, the Fife Millennium Cycleway and the Fife Coastal Path. However, on the website routes can be found that only a local would know and with the popularity of social networking Smart Community Fife hopes that many of those who enjoy the Fife countryside will put their favourite walks and cycles online.

The routes are accompanied by photos and descriptions, which can be printed and followed. The maps show local businesses, pubs, cafes and restaurants all taken from Smart Community Fife’s online information. The routes have a wide mix of lengths and difficulties for all levels of fitness. They are been added to every week. The routes currently available include a short hidden walk in Falkland and a challenging but beautiful walk along the old drovers road from Auchtermuchty to Abernethy.

The online service was launched by local MP Ming Campbell in Falkland at the start of one of the online routes.

Peter Winterborn, Chairperson of Smart Community Fife told us, “We wanted to build on the success of our site and a recent survey told us that our local communities wanted to have maps of local walking and cycling routes. It is easy and free to use allowing the community to share their favourite walking, running, cycling and dog walking routes.

“smartcommunityfife.org.uk hosts the latest local news and events written by local people as well as a frequently updated guide to what’s on and what to do in the area. Essentially it’s a one-stop shop for anyone living, working or visiting the rural centre of Fife, who doesn’t want to miss out! Our portal content is provided by local people and businesses and is kept up to date through our easy to use interface. We are really keen that people upload their favourite routes. We need their help to keep the routes relevant and interesting”

Routes can be seen and uploaded to www.smartcommunityfife.org.uk/routes

St Andrews Festival 2009

Foxfire has been commissioned to provide marketing support for this year's festival.
The company will be providing PR, design, advertising and web support for the festival which will launch on September 24th.

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Line up for Perthshire Amber 2009 - The Dougie MacLean Festival Announced

Some of the world’s top Celtic artists will be making their way to Highland Perthshire this autumn for Dougie MacLean’s Perthshire Amber Festival in October and November. The Festival kicks off with Dougie and Eddie Reader at Pitlochry Festival Theatre and finishes with a gala concert at Perth Concert Hall.

 Guests so far announced include fantastic Irish band Beoga, Australian band Sunas, rising Scottish star Heidi Talbot, favourite tune and songsters Malinky, The Michael McGoldrick Trio, Duncan Chisolm and a host of Dougie’s musical friends from around the globe performing in eleven concerts across the ten days.

 Dougie will feature in ten of the concerts performing solo, with his band and his trio. He will also play a unique concert with his 1990’s band when they perform his “Indigenous” album live for the first time. The ten day festival runs from October the 31^st at venues across Perthshire.

Foxfire will be supporting Perthshire Amber with Marketing and PR support.

www.perthshireamber.com

Foxfire in the Big Tent

Big Tent Festival - Falkland, Fife, UK

Saturday 26 - Sunday 27 July 2008

Foxfire has been contracted to promote the amazing Big Tent Festival

The Big Tent - a weekend of music, art and creativity championing the work of the environmental movement and those concerned with the conservation of the living world.

A cast of artisans, musicians and performers from all over the world will perform against the beautiful backdrop of Falkland Palace and East Lomond Hill.

Music line up of King Creosote + The Fence Collective + Peatbog Faeries + Nuala Kennedy & the New Shoes + Frank and Walters + Moishe's Bagel + Voces Del Sur + Abdou + John Coletta + More!

Entertainment for all the family including Grassroots Zimbabwe + the Chipolatas.

An Eco Campsite is added this year and is now open for bookings as well as a Food Village featuring great local, organic and Fair Trade food. There will also be the following zones: Sustainable Living (everything to green your home); One Planet (biodiversity and climate change); The Body and Soul Zone (with massage,holistic therapies and treatments); Head Zone (with talks, debates, poetry and books); Children's Zone (with workshops, games, crafts and loads of fun activities for kids); Market (with makers and traders of hand-made - organic - local - craft and quality goods).

www.bigtentfestival.co.uk