Strathyre Music Festival 24th and 25th May 2014

Jenny Reeve

The Strathyre Music Festival is hosted by local Balvaig Music Group and takes place on 24^th and 25^th May 2014. 

The Festival has attracted Celebrate Lottery funding towards the costs of delivering what is now widely considered as the Largest Community based Festival in Scotland in 2014. This accolade is even more remarkable for a small community of only 200 residents. This was recently acknowledged by a motion read out and supported by 33 Members of the Scottish Parliament.

Muckle Flugga

Strathyre is the first village in the Scottish Highlands and also resides within Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. 

The Festival is set at several venues in the heart of the village of Strathyre and enjoys the beautiful natural amphitheatre backdrop of Ben Ledi, Ben Sheann and the Two Munro’s Stuc A Chroin and Ben Vorlich. 

The Deadly Winters

The Festival boasts no less than 260 participating musicians representing 53 Solo artists, bands and choir members. The small communities of Strathyre, Balquhidder and Lochearnhead hold a wealth of local talent and many will participate in the Festival. The Festival is an essential event that pulls the local community together in a sense of common purpose and helps with an essential contribution to the local economy, which relies almost entirely on tourism. The Music Festival is helping to restore Strathyre’s position on the map as popular Tourist stop.

Callander Pipe Band

Kenny Higgins chairman of local music Group Balvaig, stated; “We have been overwhelmed by the interest in the Music Festival and we are delighted at the quality of the artists that have agreed to support the event. Demand has been so good we have a sizable waiting list and already bookings for 2015.

Kenny Herbert

The Festival line up includes: The Deadly Winters, Adrian Spina, Stefan van de Sande (Netherlands), Jim Lee and the Edge of Chaos Orchestra, (W.Sussex) Kenny Herbert and the Applebeggars, Muckle Flugga, Dwight and Jo-ann Pereira (Malaysia), Kim Seymour, Chief Chebe African drummers (Ghana) Plus many other impressive acts. Jazz & Blues are also well represented with Callander based Jenne Mcclure Jazz band and Edinburgh’s top Jazz band “Jazz main” led by Nick Gould. Renowned drummer, Phil Ragsdell and the Big Band Rhythm section for Glasgow based GCBB.  Riverside Ceilidh band and Jock the Box will round of the Festival on the Sunday evening with a Big Ceilidh Party Celebration.

K T O'Neil

Festivities start with the Festival Market and it’s special “Commonwealth” theme opening up from 10:00 am with local Crafts, Food and local produce, Music Workshops, busking, face-painting, Juggling and many other attractions likely to appeal to visitors of all ages.

Jock The Box 

The opening ceremony at 11:30am on Saturday 24^th May will be preceded by Callander Brass band, Forth Bridges Accordion marching band and Callander Pipers heralding the start of the Festival Celebrations. A special surprise is also planned as part of the opening ceremony.

                                                               

Wine tasting from Barefoot Wines on  Saturday 24th and the Sunday 25th May. 14 other Stalls with a wide range of  Food and Goods on display. A special opening ceremony will take place on the Saturday at 11:30 am and a large crowd is expected.

Further enquiries:

Kenny Higgins, Balvaig                     

e.mail:kenny@balvaig.co.uk

Tel: 01877 384660

Festival Web site: www.balvaig.co.uk 
Tickets http://balvaig.co.uk/strathyre-music-festival.html

Accommodation: Click the following link and send your accommodation request to local B&B, hotel, cottage, cabin, campsite, Inn, Guest House, Restaurant With Rooms and other accommodation owners. Enquire Now

      

                  

  

Stuc a’ Chroin Hill Race, May 3rd 2014, Strathyre

Strathyre: In 2013, on an action packed day, the Stuc a’ Chroin Hill Race celebrated its 25th Anniversary and we hosted the Scottish Athletics Long Hill Race Championship and one of the two Scottish Hill Runners Championship races. 

Stuc A Chroin Hill Race Competitors Set Off

In 2014, our race is one of the more popular races with the runners, and for good reason – stunning scenery, good timing (Bank Holiday), it’s well marked all the way to the summit, plenty of water stops, and our marshals always provide loads of encouragement for the runners, not to mention plenty of energy boosts to the runners in the form of jelly babies & jelly beans and chocolate.

There are prizes for the 1^st 3 places for every category of male and female ( adult, 40+, 50+, 60+ and 70+), as well as team prizes and Marshals spot prizes.

Normally for a non-Championship event, we attract 150 – 200 runners, all of whom require water, and have to be timed and marked at the staging posts. If you’ve been thinking about helping out or would like to be involved, this is the year to do it. We’re always on the lookout for marshals to take water up the hill, keep the runners on track and dispense water for them. 

Marshals are usually out on the hill for a couple of hours plus walking time and it’s an immensely satisfying day. We’ll need people to help set up the field on Friday 2^nd  including erecting the marquees.

For anyone interested in either coming to watch or helping out, a brief itinerary follows and don’t forget to come to the Strathyre Inn on Saturday night for live music to celebrate a great day out. 

Contact details can be found on the website www.stucachroin5000.org.uk

Fri 2^nd May

Hill Marking, Field preparation & marshals meeting.

Sat 3^rd May

08:30     Marshals’ muster and leave for hill

13:00     Race starts

15:00 +  Anticipated first finisher

21:00     Music at the Inn

Sun 5^th May Field take down

www.stucachroin5000.org.uk/marshals for information on the race, or follow the marshals link on the home page.

*  *  * 

LETI: If you are looking for accommodation in Strathyre or the surrounding area,  use the time saving live enquiry service on The Loch Earn Tourism Initiative website. Type in dates, party numbers and essential criteria and let the local accommodation providers get back to you with up to the minute availability. Additional tourist information, photos, events, services, where to eat and drink and more can be found at www.robroycountry.com.

.

Creagan House Tastes Gold

Master Chef Gordon Gunn of Creagan House Strathyre

Gordon and Cherry Gunn have been awarded
VisitScotland's prestigious Gold Award for exceptional customer care at Creagan House. The 5 star Restaurant with rooms in Strathyre village, is one of only 4 in the whole of Scotland.

Creagan House is also one of the first restaurants to be accepted into the new VisitScotland "Taste our Best" scheme". The Gunn's attended the launch at Hopetoun House in September. 

"Taste our Best" is a new quality assurance scheme designed to recognise businesses that include and promote Scottish produce on their menus in addition to offering consistently high quality food and drink.  Quality of cooking, service, presentation skills and use of seasonal produce are all considered by assessors. A minimum of 40% Scottish produce must be identifiable to guests on the menu.

Cherry said "The assessors report commented on Gordons long standing approach to knowing the provenance of his food, which easily surpassed their benchmark. We have just celebrated 27 years at Creagan House, so would like to think these awards show we are still as passionate as ever to achieve excellence in all that we do."

Earlier this year, Gordon Gunn was accepted into The Master Chefs of Great Britain and Creagan House was singled out to be included in The Trencherman's Guide to Best Restaurants In Scotland.  So, It has been quite a year for The Gunn's and Creagan House in Strathyre!

LETI: Loch Earn Tourism Initiative businesses based in Strathyre and the neighbouring villages of Balquhidder, Lochearnhead and St Fillans are proud to be associated with members Cherry and Gordon Gunn and to recommend Creagan House to visiting guests. Congratulations on 27 years and your magnificent achievements together! 

.

A Case Against Bracken by Mal Dingle, Strathyre

 The biodiversity at the top of the beautiful Tyness Burn Path

Bracken is a prehistoric plant. It has survived for approximately 55 million years by 3 main specialisation methods:

1. By being a hermaphrodite, able to reproduce by itself and then disperse its seeds by wind distribution. Each plant disperses hundreds of spores, developed on the underside of its leaves. Within a few years one plant can cover an entire hillside. 
2. By producing a carcinogen chemical makeup, giving it an unpleasant taste to animals and causing stomach cancer to those who eat it. Farmers will clear a field of bracken before allowing grazing animals onto it.
3. It can grow up to 6 foot tall, blocking out the light to wild plants, soon becoming a monoculture. It presents no real danger to humans, although a study is being made into the high incidence of stomach cancer in Japan linked to their appetite for the young emerging frons of bracken.

Midway down the Tyness Burn path, the bracken marches upward

Bracken therefore produces no food for either our insects or our wildlife, stifles the bio-diversity of plant life (which does provide food for insects and wildlife) and is dangerous to our animals. 

For dog owners, it is also the preferred habitat of the Tick. You may believe that bracken provides  shelter for nesting birds from the eyes of preying Hawks etc, however, I think it also gives cover to small mammals such as rats and mice who would steal the eggs.  

That is my case against bracken. There is no easy way to rid ourselves of the plant. In fact it is probably impossible to do so however I would urge you to treat this plant as a pariah and to pull out any bracken that you can (especially when inside a group of wild plants such as heather).  When out and about on walks, just be aware of this pernicious plant!  A war on this plant!

Mal Dingle

LETI. Mal Dingle is the current secretary of The Loch Earn Tourism Initiative (LETI) group of Scottish Tourism business members who live and work in the neighbouring villages of Balquhidder, Strathyre, Lochearnhead and St Fillans.  Mal is also the owner of Rosebank House bed and breakfast in Strathyre.  The Tyness Burn path runs along the back of the grounds of Rosebank House and is one of the many naturally beautiful walking routes that Mal and LETI members recommend within The Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.  
.
.