Highland & Moray museums support a brand new festival for Scotland which is just around the corner, 13-15 May. The inaugural Festival of Museums will see a jam-packed programme of 75 events taking place day and night across the country, with 12 events taking place across the Highlands & Moray.

Museums Galleries Scotland, who is spearheading the festival, is working side by side with Culture24’s Museums at Night and the Europe-wide celebration, La Nuit des Musées, to place Scotland firmly on the international cultural map.

Festival of Museums features an eclectic and colourful range of concerts, talks, workshops, performances and exhibitions, and many of the events are free.

Highlights from the Festival of Museums Highland’s & Moray programme include: exotic henna crafts at Groam House Museum; a review of the Hilton of Cadboll cross-slab with renowned archaeologist Heather James with Groam House; a Fishtastic Festival with Timespan; plus an exploration of the famous Robert Dick with Caithness Horizons.

At Falconer Museum explore the museum at night and get up close and personal with some creepy crawlies while at Elgin Museum there will be a night time showing of Ben Stiller’s Night at the Museum; the Highland Museum of Childhood is offering a whole host of events to celebrate their new exhibition; Strathnaver Museum is exploring all things Gaelic with music, poems and song; plus Gairloch Heritage Museum is hosting demos, crafts and activities for the whole family.

Joanne Orr, Chief Executive of Museums Galleries Scotland, said: “The first ever Festival of Museums is a celebration of Scottish culture and all that is fantastic about Scotland, with events that explore our past, present and future. It highlights Scotland’s museums and galleries as great year-round visitor attractions with something for people of all ages to enjoy.”

Joanne Howdle, Caithness Horizons, adds: “I would encourage everyone to put 13 to 15 May in their diaries and visit as many of the events as possible. There is an amazing, diverse mix of events taking place right across the country and it’s inspiring to see so many Highland museums working together.”

 Full details of this year’s programme are available on www.festivalofmuseums.com