One of Scotland’s newest Independent Film Festival, the Loch Ness Film Festival is back for a 2nd year. This year’s featival will take place from May 26-29th 2011 and will be screening short films from Scotland and around the world to feature films such as Dog Soldiers, Toy Story 3 and indie features the Scottish Comedy from Aberdeen, One Day Removals and the Falkirk Gangster flick The Cowboy Court.

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.

Scottish Opera completes its 2010/11 season in style with Verdi’s operatic blockbuster, Rigoletto.

Estonian pianist Kristi Kapten to give a recital at 1.00pm on Friday 20th May in Inverness Town House.

Edderton Hall Arts & Crafts Fair takes place this Saturday 14th May from 10am – 4.30pm. There will be a range of high quality art and craft work by makers from across the Highlands at this event.

HI-Arts Craft Development has brought together a selection of work by a range of makers from throughout the Highlands and Islands and have assisted them to exhibit as part of the Open Studios event at Craft Central in London as Made in the Highlands at Made Clerkenwell. HI-Arts has also secured the Craft Central Corner shop in Clerkenwell and will have the makers work on display at this location from 19th – 22nd May 2011.

The HI-Arts Craft Development Summer maker event ‘Selling the Sizzle’ on Friday 3 June has something for everyone with an inspiring range of speakers all exploring the selling of craft.

Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the National Centre for Gaelic and Culture, recently appointed an Arts Development Officer and a Visual Artist in Residence, with a new Exhibition currently being shown.

The names of 20 Scottish museum and galleries who successfully bid to host one of twenty paid internships offered by Museums Galleries Scotland have been announced. Orkney Islands Council Arts, Museums and Heritage Service and The Pier Arts Centre have successfully secured one of these internships and the process to find a Museums and Gallery Intern has commenced.

A special Loch Shiel Festival version of Copland’s Pulitzer Prize winning “Appalachian Spring” precedes Stravinsky’s topical take on the Faustian fable.