PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES: Thursday – Sunday (July 27 – July 30) - see below for details
The UK’s biggest fiddle and dance festival, NAFCo 2006, continues this weekend with a packed line-up of concerts, workshops and busking trails around the city.
Organised by the University of Aberdeen’s Elphinstone Institute, in partnership with SCaT (Scottish Culture and Traditions Association), NAFCo 2006 has attracted thousands of visitors to the region since the sell-out opening concert on Wednesday night at the Lemon Tree.
Festival organisers are enjoying the busiest NAFCo yet with over 4,000 people taking part in events – breaking the previous box office record for the festival. Visitors have travelled from the US, Canada, Australia, Norway, and all over the UK.
NAFCo is one of the world’s biggest events of its kind and runs until Sunday (July 30) at the University of Aberdeen and other arts venues around the city and beyond. This year, big international names in traditional music and the cream of local talent are participating in a packed programme of concerts, ceilidhs, fiddle and dance workshops, and musical sessions. There will also be a series of talks, busking tours, and visits to local hospitals and businesses to bring the spirit of NAFCo all over the city and North-East.
The line-up is the most international to date with this weekend’s programme featuring musicians and dancers from Canada, Norway, Ireland, Russia, and Denmark.
NAFCo 2006 highlights tomorrow (Friday, July 28) include:-
· 12.00 – 2.30pm – Free Lunchtime Concert: Cape Breton & Newfoundland – Lemon Tree Café – featuring some good old ‘Down Home’ music from Canada’s Atlantic Coast.
· 2.00pm – 3.15pm – Free Concert Series at the Cowdray Hall – Norway & Shetland – featuring Cullivoe Fiddlers and Annbjorg Lien and Catriona Macdonald. This concert is an opportunity to explore the strong cultural ties between Shetland and Norway. The Cullivoe Fiddlers will demonstrate the old-style of Yell, which can be traced back over 100 years. And Catriona and Annbjorg, who are joining NAFCo for their first UK performances as a duo, will share their unique contemporary sounds as two of the world’s leading female fiddlers
· 3.45pm – 5.00pm – Free Concert Series at the Cowdray Hall – Ireland & Prince Edward Island – featuring Liz Doherty, Peter Aresenault and Ken Perlman. Audiences can enjoy the tunes of two unique traditions, played in the time-honoured style of countless generations.
Dr Ian Russell, Director of the Elphinstone Institute, and co-organiser of NAFCo 2006, believes the second NAFCo is the best festival of its kind anywhere in the world. He said: “We are really excited about how popular this festival’s programme has proved – people are coming from Australia to Auchterless!
“NAFCo is for everyone who enjoys the sound of the fiddle, whether audience or player, young or old. The festival is an unrivalled opportunity to experience the best in live traditional fiddle music and dance.”
All confirmed artists and performances for Saturday and Sunday are available by visiting the NAFCo website at: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/elphinstone/nafco/
NAFCo links up with a number of local, national and international arts and cultural organisations and has received the support of the City of Aberdeen, Scottish Arts Council, MacRobert Trust and Scottish Enterprise Grampian. The arts venue the Lemon Tree, is the official NAFCo Festival Club where concerts, workshops and dance events are being held every day of the festival.
Tickets for NAFCo 2006 are still available by contacting The Elphinstone Institute on +44 (0) 1224 272996 or email@ NAFCo@abdn.ac.uk or visit: www.abdn.ac.uk/elphinstone/nafco/