2021 Events in Inverness & Scottish Highlands
Highland Games - Festivals - Music

Pipe band at Piping Inverness, Scotland
Photo © The Internet Guide to Scotland

Please note that due to the Covid-19 situation, many events will have to be rescheduled. There are restrictions on holding live music events. Please double check with the organisers.

Cinema and Theatre
Eden Court Theatre and Cinema by the River Ness..
Vue (cinema multiplex a couple of miles outside the city centre).

For art events, The Castle Gallery at 43 Castle Street (tel: 01463 729512) has exhibitions of original contemporary fine and applied art.

Music in pubs/bars/hotels:
Covid-19 restrictions apply. Hopefully some of these will be lifted in 2021. These are some of the most popular local venues:

Pubs for traditional Scottish Music include Hootananny / Mad Hatters (Church Street), MacGregor's (bottom of Academy Street), and the Gellions (Bridge Street). There's often live music atJohnny Foxes (Bank Street, overlooking the river), Encore Une Fois (in Young Street just over the bridge), the Market Bar (Church Street), The Tooth & Claw (tucked away in Baron Taylor's Street), as well as The Dog House (opposite the post office in Queensgate). MacNabs at the Columba Hotel on the river has live music on Saturday nights.
For ceilidhs, try Hootananny on a Saturday afternoon.

Other venues and events:

The invernessGiGs web site includes music news, events listings, reviews, etc.
The Ironworks Live Music Venue on Academy Street features concerts in all genres of music.
What's Happening Inverness Facebook page is another good source of local entertainment and activities.

The Farmers' Market is held on the first Saturday of each month (except January), with stalls of local produce (meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, cheese, homebaking) in the Eastgate pedestrian area of Inverness city centre.

Events in 2021:

Due to Covid, please check with event organisers before making plans to attend any events.

16 - 17 January: Strathpuffer 24-hour Mountain Bike Endurance Event in Strathpeffer CANCELLED
13 February: Inverness Chinese New Year Celebrations and street parade
February: The Inverness Music Festival - ONLINE ONLY FOR 2021
early March: The Snowman Rally - annual event organised by the Highland Car Club. CANCELLED FOR 2021 BUT BACK IN 2022
tbc April: A Taste of Nairn (food and drink festival)
tbc 10 April: OutDores music festival by Loch Ness
17 April: Annual Commemoration Service at Culloden Battlefield
25 April: Etape Loch Ness cycle race
28 April - 3 May: Spirit of Speyside whisky festival (distilleries around Moray & Speyside)
30 April - 2 May: Crime and Thrillers Weekend organised by Cromarty Arts Trust
1 May: Inverness Gin Festival - the Scottish Gin Festivals tour reaches the Highland capital with a day of events including tastings, tapas and live music.
tbc - usually in May: Inverness Classic Vehicle Show
16 May: Inverness Half Marathon and 5K
28 - 30 May: The LochNess360 Challenge - 3 marathons, an ultra marathon or a mountain bike challenge.
mid June tbc: Truckness at Dores, by Loch Ness
mid June tbc: Woodzstock family friendly music festival on the Black Isle at Woodside of Drumnamerg
16 - 17 June: XPO North Festival - for the creative industries of the Highlands will take place online for 2021
tbc end June: European Pipe Band Championships at Bught Park, Inverness.
tbc mid July: Inverness Highland Games
24 July: Loch Ness Film Festival
29 - 31 July: Belladrum - Tartan Heart Festival on the Belladrum Estate, near Beauly.
4 - 5 August: Black Isle Show at Mannsfield Showground, Muir of Ord (tel: 01463 870870). This is the largest agricultural show in the North of Scotland. It attracts over 2,000 cattle, horse and sheep entries, more than 300 trade stands and over 25,000 visitors to the show each year. There is plenty to see and do, craft fair, food fair, 'On the Farm' exhibition for the kids, agricultural stands, vintage rally and sheep shearing.
6 - 7 August: Highland Field Sports Fair at Moy Hall (between Aviemore and Inverness).
tbc 7 August: Nairn Show with livestock exhibitions, craft fair, food stalls and amusements is held at Kinnudie Farm, Auldearn.
21 August: Nairn Highland Games
mid August: Nairn Half Marathon
late August : Northern Meeting Piping Competition at Eden Court
28 August: Glenurquhart Highland Games at Drumnadrochit, Loch Ness
late August - early September: Doors Open Days in Inverness and area (More info)
3 - 4 September: Spirit of Speyside Distilled Food & Drink (distilleries around Moray & Speyside)
4 September: The Gathering is a music festival in Inverness at the Northern Meeting Park featuring Wolfstone, Peatbog Faeries, Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Trail West, Torridon and more. (Event re-scheduled from late May)
mid September tbc: Nairn Book & Arts Festival
30 September - early October: NessBookFest - Inverness book festival
3 October: Loch Ness Marathon plus 5K and 10K River Ness fun runs.
8 - 16 October: Gaelic Royal National Mod including a Torch Light Procession and Massed Choirs Procession. Postponed from 2020.
9 October: World Porridge Making Championship at Carrbridge
tbc late October 2021: Halloween on Ness Islands
tbc 5 November: Civic Bonfire and Fireworks Display, Bught Park, Inverness
tbc early December: Winter Wonderland at Whin Park, Inverness
tbc 31 December 2021: Red Hot Highland Fling Hogmanay party, Northern Meeting Park, Inverness