KENNY MATHIESON looks at the whisky and tartan theme running through this year’s Highland Festival with director ALASTAIR McDONALD

HI~Arts hosted the inaugural meeting of a proposed Highlands and Islands Festivals Forum at the Waterside Hotel in Inverness. KENNY MATHIESON sums up proceedings

CATRIONA PAUL gets over her brush with celebrity and considers the state of Celtic film and televison as manifest at the 25th Celtic Film and Television Festival in Dundee.

As the Eden Court Theatre prepares to stage events from the nationwide Puppet Animation Festival for the first time, the festival’s director SIMON HART, fills in the background to an event that has, like Topsy, just growed and growed.

CATRIONA PAUL looks ahead to the 25th Celtic Film and Television Festival in Dundee.

JAMES MILLER looks ahead with a sneak preview of the programme for the 5th Cromarty Book Festival, which takes place at the end of March this year.

Celtic Connections will host a stellar gathering for Harvest, the opening night concert in this year’s festival, combining major names from the Celtic heartlands with the up and coming youngsters of the Fèisean movement. Capercaillie’s DONALD SHAW is the man behind the project, and explains what it is all about.

TOMMY BEAVITT reports on the stresses, strains and ultimate satisfactions in helping mount the Wester Ross Festival – even if it did turn much of the month into one big blur of activity

ANDY ROSS, the co-organiser of the inaugural Vocal Music Festival on Unst and Yell, reports on the events of the weekend.

ANDREA MUIR reports on a significant step forward for her husband, Dingwall-based guitarist GRAHAM MUIR, and looks ahead to next month’s Ullapool Guitar Festival