The Centre’s spring programme takes you deeper into seasonal change & further into understanding our natural connections.
Beginning with the traditional festival of Bride in February (sometimes called Imbolc in other Celtic cultures), where our ancestors faced down the last throes of winter, we welcome an exhibition around Duncan Williamson’s Wonder Tales, which heads up a series of family events for the school holidays.
By mid-February in the modern calendar, music, dance and love were on the horizon, preparing the way for full enjoyment of spring.
This year the Centre programme, supported by TRACS (Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland), offers a Love Springs Eternal Café Voices on Valentine’s night, followed by Bothy Ballads in The World’s Room song session at the Waverley Bar (Fri 15 Feb), A Story to Every Dance (Sat 16) and medieval tales of seduction in Fool for Love (Wed 20 Feb).
There are also opportunities to explore these creative nature themes through participatory workshops Narrative Art and Poetry (Fri 15 Feb) and Reconnecting with the Whole Story (Sat 23 Feb).
Seasonal change also provokes memories and hopes, captured in the poignant exhibition, A Child of the 60s in the Centre’s Storytelling Court (20 Feb to 16 Mar), whilst something of the same reflective spirit breathes through Hebridean Treasure: Lost & Found (Fri 1 Mar), evoking the loss and rediscovery of an enchanted world, and Tales of Exile and Sanctuary (Sat 2 Mar), a global tapestry of stories exploring expulsion and refuge.
Traditionally, the spring season is associated in Scotland with female powers of regeneration, nurture and leadership. So, naturally, the Storytelling Centre is a key venue for the Audacious Women Festival (21-23 Feb), signposting a run of March events featuring Storytelling True Facts: Iconic Women (Tue 5 Mar) and Trailblazers! (Fri 8 Mar).
We hope you find many opportunities to engage with your own creativity and take inspiration and enjoyment from these events. Sometimes spring can be a high energy roller-coaster…!
