A Dingwall arts organisation has taken steps to make one of its key annual youth music events a ‘pay what you can’ opportunity in a bid to make it as affordable as possible for families across the Highlands.
Fèis Rois has opened bookings for its annual Easter holiday music week, a fun-filled week of Gaelic, music, song, drama and art, usually held in Ullapool, and this year it is has been restructured to ensure cost restrictions don’t prevent young people from attending.
Instead of the usual five-day residential in Ullapool, there will be three events running in three different locations simultaneously. From Monday 3rd to Thursday 6th April 2023, Fèis Rois’ first non-residential version of its Easter Fèis week will run in Tain, Dingwall and Ullapool. The event is open to all young people from P4 up to S6 and will give them the opportunity to try a new instrument such as fiddle, guitar, accordion, ukulele, tin whistle and Gaelic song, or the chance for more advanced players to work on their playing together and arranging skills in group work sessions with a host of top traditional music and drama tutors. In addition to the workshops taking place from 10am – 3.30pm each day, there will be a community cèilidh in each of these places which members of the public are warmly invited to attend. Community cèilidhs will take place on the following dates:
- Tuesday 4th April, 7pm, The Duthac Centre, Tain
- Wednesday 5th April, 7pm, Ullapool Village Hall
- Thursday 6th April, 7pm, Dingwall Town Hall
There is no charge to attend the community ceilidhs and no need to buy tickets in advance. There will be an opportunity to give a donation on the door should you wish.
In Tain, the tutors include Kaitlin Ross and Megan Macdonald of folk band, Eabhal, Edderton fiddler Ruairidh Gollan and Chloë Bryce, a fiddle player and singer originally from Tain. Kaitlin, Megan, Ruairidh and Chloë are all former Fèis Rois participants themselves. The tutor line-up in Dingwall includes multi-instrumentalist and producer Mike Vass, renowned accordionist and piper, Mairearad Green and guitarists Liam Ross and Alasdair Paul whilst singer Kim Richards, fiddle players Anne Wood and Sally Simpson and Gaelic actor Artair Donald will be leading workshops in Ullapool.
Fiona Dalgetty, Fèis Rois Chief Executive, said: “We are very aware that the cost of living crisis has had a significant impact on families across the Highlands and we are committed to running events which are as inclusive and accessible as possible. Without the additional costs associated with running a fully residential event, we are able to make this music week a “pay what you can” event, helping to make it more affordable for families.
“This new format also means that instead of young people only having the opportunity to experience one Fèis week a year – previously primary school children would have attended at Easter and young people of secondary school age in October – they can all attend both the April non-residential event and the October residential week, giving them double the Fèis experience this year!”
To book a place on this year’s Easter Fèis and to find out more information, please visit https://feisrois.org/residential-feisan/junior-feis/. If you have any questions, you can get in touch with the team by emailing fios@feisrois.org.
More information regarding the October week, 16th – 20th October in Ullapool, will be available soon at www.feisrois.org.
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