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.

On return of Moray resident Carol Scorer , from her trip to Senegal in March this year, to study drumming with a master drummer ( thanks to assistance from Creative Scotland) there will a chance for locals to try out some African drumming.

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.

This summer Kilmartin House Museum in Argyll is having a series of 4 exhibitions on the walls of Glebe Cairn cafe. Each exhibition will represent one of the four elements and will consist of exhibits in a variety of different media.

A proposal for an ambitious, large-scale, participatory project on Shetland is considered for £175K support from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

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.

Fort William, Lochaber, 6-7 May 2011.