Over 1000 attend Northern Stories Festival and have a whale of a time

Lyth Art Centre's (LAC) Northern Stories Festival 2022 came to "a brilliant end" on Sunday after 10 days of events across the county, said its organisers.

Over 1000 people attended events online and in-person with the festival attracting audiences from across the globe.

Highlights included The Tale of the Whale at Rosebank Playing Fields in Wick – an innovative storytelling show about plastic in our oceans which took place inside a 50ft inflatable sperm whale. With almost 15 sold out performances, families from Wick and beyond came to enjoy the spectacle and bravely crawl inside the beast.

Another family friendly hit was Myth of the Vikings which also took place in Wick at the Pulteney Centre. As well as enjoying a fun, shadow puppet show, audiences all took part in a puppet-making workshop afterwards and got to try their hand at shadow puppetry.

Local storytellers and writers were given a spotlight throughout the festival with artists like Donna Booth, Gail Brown and George Gunn all taking part. Audiences were treated to special storytelling events in unusual locations including one in the bothy at Dunbeath Harbour. Lit by candlelight, Portskerra based storyteller Alex Patience delighted audiences with traditional tales from the north east coast. Particularly atmospheric was Jennifer Henderson’s reading live at Sinclair Girnigoe Castle where she shared some of the gruesome history of the site, taken from her latest book Daughters of the North. Story fans in Bettyhill were also treated to an intimate evening in the cosy setting of The Store.

There were musical highlights across Caithness including a vibrant opening night hosted by folk supergroup Salt House. Original collaborations between musicians and storytellers included George Gunn working with Andy Thorburn and Gordon Gunn to present Cattachs and Gallachs. Songs from the Last Stage by Chamber Music Scotland set famous last lines from some of Scotland’s best loved novels to new music. There were also new commissions seen at the Painted People exhibition which runs until the end of November at the North Coast Visitors Centre in Thurso.

LAC Director Charlotte Mountford said: "Northern Stories Festival was a wonderful 10 days celebrating the stories of the north. It was a really diverse programme which relied on partnerships and collaboration both at home and away. We’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone who helped make the festival happen and also to the Caithness community who are always so supportive."

The LAC team will be taking some time now to have a wee break and plan for the coming months. Coming up in November will be an exhibition from Caithness Young Creatives working on the "Out of the Blue" project which explores connections between wellbeing and water. In December the festive season kicks off with two sold out Neon Waltz gigs, a night of Christmas jazz and a new family Christmas show called Ginger. The famous LAC Christmas Ceilidh returns after three years this time with a special family edition.

Supported by EventScotland as part of the Year of Stories 2022

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