AN evening of live trad music and Gaelic culture at the VisitScotland iCentre in Fort William will form part of a celebration marking the arrival of the Royal National Mòd to Lochaber.
People are invited along to the VisitScotland iCentre in Fort William from 4pm on Monday 16 October 2017, as it hosts an evening of free live musical performances, with support from the Outdoor Capital of the UK (OCUK), Lochaber Chamber of Commerce’s tourism brand.
The Royal National Mòd is organised by An Comunn Gàidhealach (The Highland Association). Famous for celebrating our Gaelic linguistic and cultural heritage, the festival provides opportunities for people of all ages to perform across a range of competitive disciplines, including Gaelic music and song, Highland dancing, instrumental, drama, sport and literature.
This year, it takes place between 13 and 21 October in Lochaber and staff in the Fort William VisitScotland iCentre will be helping answer any queries in relation to the events taking place during the week, as well as providing Gaelic-speaking advisors for the event in the centre itself on 16 October.
The entertainment kicks off in the iCentre at 4pm on 16 October, when 11 year-old accordion player, Cameron MacIsaac, who is competing in the Mòd, will open proceedings. iCentre visitors can then whet their appetites with music from local performers, including Gaelic Mòd gold medal singers, Ruaridh Cormack, Eilidh Cormack and Emma Macleod.
At 5pm, the talented Marianne Fraser and A’Hooligan, who describe themselves as “a mad-trad ceilidh band from the west coast, producing and performing our unique style throughout the highlands and islands,” will perform.
Hot on their heels from 6.30pm to 8pm are Gary Innes, Ewen Henderson and Craig Irving, of Mànran, one of the best-known and loved Scottish bands on the scene today. The 2011 launch of their debut single, Latha Math, heralded a meteoric rise to the top of the Scottish music world that quickly saw them playing many of the most prestigious festivals in Europe, despite having only been in existence for a few months.
From then, a multi-award-winning debut album followed as the band set about living up to the hype surrounding their early release while establishing their characteristic sound and distinctive approach to musical arrangement.
A member of VisitScotland’s Coo Van fleet – either Hamish, Morag or Archie – will also be parked outside the iCentre on Monday evening. These vans have toured the country throughout the summer, providing inspiration and information at events, visitor attractions and tourism hotspots – and have become a real talking point amongst visitors, who are encouraged to stop by, have a chat with our Coo-visors and learn about some of the traditional Scottish activities in which they can get involved.
For those who can’t attend, there is an opportunity to view a live streaming of events, along with exclusive interviews with the musicians, live on Facebook on the OCUK Facebook page (Facebook Live) at:
https://www.facebook.com/Outdoorcapitaluk
Chris Taylor, VisitScotland Regional Partnerships director, said: “This event is the perfect opportunity for VisitScotland to help showcase some great traditional music and we are delighted to be supporting this as well as the continual development and promotion of Gaelic, particularly during Scotland’s Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology.
“At VisitScotland, we recognise that the Gaelic language is an integral part of Scotland’s heritage, identity and culture, which makes it vital when we are marketing Scotland to our visitors.
“The VisitScotland team here in the Fort William iCentre is pivotal in providing information and inspiration to visitors from all over the world who want to learn about the Highlands and the Gaelic culture. Tourism is the heartbeat of the Scottish economy – supporting communities and creating jobs throughout the year in every corner of the country.”
Chris O’Brien, destination manager, Outdoor Capital of the UK, said: “We are delighted to support this fantastic night of traditional entertainment with VisitScotland, and we’re just as excited to live stream the event on Facebook so that we can share our brand of Highland entertainment with the rest of the world!”
As well as the fantastic musicians, visitors will also be able to Lochaber’s delicious local produce, including shortbread and whisky.
For more information on VisitScotland, visit:
For more information on the Outdoor Capital of the UK, visit:
ENDS
For further information contact:
Kim Walton | regional corporate press officer | VisitScotland | T: (01224) 269187
M: 07805 802 508 | E: kim.walton@visitscotland.com
Or
Louise Purves | corporate press officer | VisitScotland | T: (0131) 472 2052 | E: louise.purves@visitscotland.com
Or
Paddy Cuthbert | Littlehouse Media | E: paddy@littlehousemedia.co.uk |
M: +44 (0)7913 951717
Notes to editors:
The Outdoor Capital of the UK is Lochaber Chamber of Commerce’s tourism element. Under the OCUK brand the Chamber of Commerce publicise, sponsor and promote Lochaber as a leading tourist destination within the UK. The Outdoor Capital of the UK website is the site to go to for local events, activity providers and visitor accommodation in Lochaber – http://www.outdoorcapital.co.uk/
Through a range of collaborative marketing initiatives and activities the organisation promotes Fort William and Lochaber as the best place in the UK for everyone to experience the outdoors; with a view to developing local jobs and wealth and encouraging sustainable economic growth – #myoutdoorcapital.
Visitors interested in the outdoors are very important to the economy and community of Lochaber. There are over 65 different activities to choose from in an amazing landscape that encompasses the small isles to Ben Nevis with White Water Rivers, sea, lochs, beaches, forest, glens, cliffs and mountains in between.
Useful websites and social media channels:
Lochaber Chamber of Commerce – http://www.lochaberchamber.co.uk/
The Outdoor Capital of the UK – http://www.outdoorcapital.co.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Outdoor_Capital
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Outdoorcapitaluk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outdoorcapitaluk
VisitScotland
* Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
* VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
* The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
* This will be supported by five overarching strategies: Marketing, Events, Quality and Sustainability, Inclusive Tourism, International Engagement.
* The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
* Spending by tourists in Scotland generates around £12 billion of economic activity in the wider Scottish supply chain and contributes around £6 billion to Scottish GDP (in basic prices). This represents about five per cent of total Scottish GDP.
* For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/
* Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh).
* For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
* For information about business tourism in Scotland, go to www.conventionscotland.com
2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology ends on 31 December 2017. It will build on the momentum generated by previous themed years in Scotland including the 2015 Year of Food and Drink, Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural. 2018 will be the Year of Young People.
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