Storylands Sessions Show

Our fully inter-generational show runs from 7pm - 9.30pm drawing out the storytelling, music, poetry and song of the area, and features an invited guest to share about their work in the arts, heritage, ecology or adventure spheres. From 2025, a special addition to the shows will be the displaying of visual art and photography, curated by Aila Shafer.

Tuesday 12th August , 2025

Theme: Wild at Heart

Some prompts to inspire your contributions:  true to nature, primal instinct, born free… or set free?

Contributions from all ages are welcome and for our young performers we offer a Stagecraft Session, a free interactive rehearsal session from 5.45pm-6.45pm, open to all young people from 5 to 25 who have tickets for the Show. Everyone under 16 to be accompanied by a guardian.

Featured Guest: Peter Cairns

Over the last 30 years, Peter Cairns has worked as a freelance conservation photographer and filmmaker, nature tourism operator, and more recently as founder and Executive Director of rewilding charity SCOTLAND: The Big Picture. Pete has authored and illustrated seven books, produced two feature-length documentaries, and directed several major conservation media initiatives, such as Wild Wonders of Europe and 2020VISION. A long-term advocate for ecological restoration in Scotland, he continues to look for opportunities to inform, inspire and influence a fundamental shift in our relationship with wild nature.

At our Show, he will give a presentation filled with his striking images called ‘Thinking Like a Mountain’.

For guidance on how to contribute at a Storylands Sessions event, see below.

Programme

Our young performers will be programmed into the first half, but are welcome to stay the whole time, and our guest will feature in the second half.

The programme gets filled up very quickly, so performance slots need to be booked in advance. Read on...

We welcome:

• folk who just want to come along and listen. You don't have to perform to be taking part and thunderous applause is always appreciated!
• all kinds of stories: historical, myth and legend, your own experiences - or a mix!
• poetry: ideally your own, but your faves from other poets are welcome, too
• music: traditional, contemporary, original or borrowed; instrumental or sung; solo or ensemble
• art, photography, video and other multi-media presentations

We’ve even had step-dancing!

Anything on theme will do, up to five minutes, remembering that there usually children at the show.

You can offer a performance contribution on the spur of the moment on the night, but our programme is usually full and priority for slots will go to those who book in advance – which you can do in just a few minutes using our easy online form.

Performers can have a free ticket. Please fill out the form FIRST to find out if there’s space in the programme. We’ll reply with all the info you need to have a great time at the Sessions, but if there isn’t space for the upcoming show, we’ll invite you back to perform at a future one.

If this event is booked out, you can register for the Waitlist as tickets may become available closer to the day. NB: each waiting list entry is for ONE TICKET only, so please make a separate registration for each ticket you would like.

Kincraig Church Hall, The Brae, Kincraig, Inverness-shire PH21 1QD

(Located next to the Cairngorms Christian Centre)

Directions https://alvieandinshchurch.org.uk/visit-us/

UPCOMING STORYLANDS SESSIONS EVENTS

12th August - Wild At Heart

16th September - Diversity

14th October - part of the Scottish International Storytelling Festival, theme tbc

11th November - Reflection

9th December - Hidden Worlds

WORKSHOPS 2025, commencing February.

Find out more here about our 2025 Word & Image Workshops with Merryn Glover and Folk Music Workshops with Hamish Napier .

Keep an eye on our website and social media below for further updates about Storylands Sessions events

Facebook

Instagram

Website

Even better, to be on the inside lane, sign up for our mailing list here.

www.merrynglover.com

www.hamishnapier.com

Follow and tag #StorylandsSessions #BadenochTheStorylands on social media

Storylands Sessions is proud to be funded by Creative Scotland and by generous anonymous donors.