Arts & Entertainment

There’s always something going on in Orkney.

Whatever time of year you choose to visit, you’re certain to find live entertainment, and there’s a high chance that a festival will be in full swing. 

Orkney’s creative calendar hits its stride in April, when musicians from near and far pour their heart and soul into Orkney Blues Festival.

Just a few weeks later, Orkney will be alive with music of a different sort. 

The sound of traditional tunes and folk ballads will ring through the county, as performers from all over the world descend for Orkney Folk Festival. 

Bringing together the best of what our community has to offer in terms of traditional music, the festival regularly features stars of the national and international stage. 

The same goes too for our thriving amateur drama scene. 

No matter their walk of life, it is common to see members of the community treading the boards in colourful costumes, particularly for the Orkney Drama Festival, community concerts and musicals.

There’s music and drama in abundance, so why not enjoy a festival packed full of plenty of both? 

Celebrating its 50th anniversary this June is the St Magnus International Festival, which brings midsummer merriment to our shores. 

The end of a traditional Orkney summer goes out with a moo, a baa, and sometimes a few clucks as we take in our August agricultural show season. But never fear! The dark nights drawing in is no reason to batten down the hatches! 

Celebrate the last days of summer as it becomes autumn to the tune of an electric guitar, as the community mounts its annual Rock Festival in pubs around Kirkwall.

If music isn’t your thing, then maybe a deep dive into science will spark your imagination? In the first week of September, venues across the county are given over to the Orkney International Science Festival, offering lectures, workshops, tours and other activities which will pique the interest of one and all. 

Perhaps it’s fitting then that the final event in our annual calendar of festivals is one that involves putting your feet up by the fireside.

For the past decade, the Orkney Storytelling Festival has taken audiences on a journey over the rolling hills and stormy seas of our island home through folk tales — both traditional and new — as well as to further shores.

It is hoped that this annual programme of cosy autumn events will return this October.

But we’re not finished yet! There’s one thing you cannot miss at any time of year, and that is Orkney’s booming art scene, fuelled by the many highly acclaimed galleries in both the Mainland and the isles. 

Indeed, in recent times, great focus has been given to newer and younger arts and craftmakers, with galleries such as The Pier Arts Centre showcasing work by students and graduates. Meanwhile, emerging artists group MÓTI brings colour to venues across Orkney.

Much more goes on in Orkney besides these regular headline events, with performers from near and far regularly entertaining in venues like the Orkney Theatre, Garden Square and the Pickaquoy Centre. 

Our isles are full of natural-born performers, whether they be actors, dancers or musicians, and we’re sure they will have plenty in store for both residents and visitors in the year to come.