Whit’s on this weekend?
Want to know whit’s on and where over Orkney’s annual rugby sevens weekend? Well, look no further . . .
The John Rae Festival
May 4, 2018Orkney’s second ever John Rae Festival kicks off tonight, Friday, with a special guest commencing a weekend of events.
Canadian Ken McGoogan author, whose works include Dead Reckoning: The Untold Story of the Northwest Passage, will be speaki0ng at the Orkney Theatre, tonight from 7.30pm.
Tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday will see an open weekend at Dr Rae’s birthplace — the Hall of Clestrain, in Orphir — from 11am to 5pm on Saturday and noon until 5pm on Sunday.
The celebration of one of Orkney’s most famous sons, will also see a screening of John Walker’s 2008 film Passage, from 7.30pm in the Town Hall in Stromness on Sunday
For more information and a full programme visit the John Rae Society’s website.
Gigs around town
May 4, 2018With Orkney’s annual rugby sevens tournament to take place this weekend, followed by the May Day holiday on Monday, there’s sure to be a good atmosphere in the town.
Eighteen sides are set to contest the rugby competition — 14 local sides and four from south — with the defending champion, Hearts and Balls, set to return to the county for one of the county’s best-loved sporting events.
A number of bands will be taking to the pubs to put on shows for the punters, including:
Friday night will see The Cartel playing at The Auld Motor Hoose.
Saturday night will see Bad Apple also in Auld Motor Hoose.
Sunday will see The Cartel and Bigsy Whalps playing in the back bar of the St Ola Hotel, Kirkwall, from 4pm, while through in Stromness, in the back bar of the Royal, May and Mackie will be playing between 2pm and 5pm.
Japanese Children's Day
May 5, 2018In honour of Japanese Children’s Day, on Saturday, May 5, a number of events are to be held in Kirkwall and Stromness.
The first of these will take place at the Pier Arts Centre in Stromness, as special guests, Tschichigumo Daiko put on a Japanese drum performance from 11am to 11.30am.
There will also be a number of fun activities for kids, such as origami, handcraft, Japanese writing lessons and more, in the Carnegie Room in the Orkney Library, in Kirkwall, from 11am until 2pm.
From 2pm until 3.10pm, there will be a Japanese Traditional Musical instrument performance, a Shakuhachi performance and a workshop for kids, with Dr Gemma McGregor as well as a Taiko performance and workshop with the Tsuchigumo Daiko drumming group. These will be held in the MacGillivray Room in Orkney Library, Kirkwall..
Admission to the events is free and all ages are welcome.
Orkney Children's Theatre Club performances
May 6, 2018 1:30 pmThis Sunday will see a string of shows from the Orkney Children’s Theatre Club kick off at the Gable End Theatre, in Hoy.
The club will be performing Eric Linklater’s The Pirates in the Deep Green Sea, adapted for the stage by Ragnhild Ljosland, from 1.30pm.
There will be further performances of the show the following weekend — on Friday, May 11, in the Deerness Hall and the following Saturday in the Stenness Hall.
Tickets are available from The Orcadian Bookshop, Deerness Stores, Sutherland’s Garage or you can pay at the door.