2025 Events in Inverness & Scottish Highlands
Highland Games - Festivals - Music

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

Live music:
These are some of the most popular local venues:

Pubs and bars for traditional Scottish Music include Hootananny / Mad Hatters (Church Street) and the The Gellions (Bridge Street). An Seomar and SOUNDBAR are new bars including Scottish music (Church Street). There's often live music atJohnny Foxes (Bank Street, overlooking the river), Encore Une Fois (in Young Street just over the main bridge), the Market Bar (Church Street) and The Tooth & Claw (tucked away in Baron Taylor's Street).
There's also Whisky Gigs at The Malt Room on Saturdays nights once a month. The Highland Malt Whisky Experience at Macgregors (end of Academy Street) combines whisky tasting, history, story, legend and music of the Scottish Highlands (weekday evenings from April to October).
The Victorian Market in the city centre often has live music at weekends in the newly refurbished Food and Drink Hall.

Cinema and Theatre
Eden Court Theatre and Cinema in Inverness 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.

Other regular events:

The Inverness 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.
In The City Markets (arts, crafts, food) run on the first Saturday of each month from May to October (excluding July) downstairs in Eastgate Shopping Centre (Falcon Square entrance) from 9am until 5pm.
The Highland Food & Drink Trail has a variety of street food vendors on the riverside near the Cathedral (usually Wednesday - Sunday during the summer, weekends in winter).
In Drumnadrochit, there's a regular community craft Market on the Green from March - September.

Inverness Cathedral hosts a programme of varied musical events throughout the year and free lunchtime organ concerts on Fridays in the summer.
The Inverness Royal British Legion Pipe Band usually perform in Inverness city centre every Tuesday night at 7pm from mid June to end August at the bottom of the Market Brae Steps with a performance by local Highland dancers.

Events in 2025:

Due to open in the latter half of 2025, the Inverness Castle Experience will be a new visitor attraction with interactive exhibitions, Ceilidh Rooms, cafe, restaurant, viewing platform, garden, etc.

11 - 12 January: Strathpuffer 24-hour Mountain Bike Endurance Event in Strathpeffer
8 February: Strathpeffer Pavilion Food & Craft Fair (11am - 3pm)
22 February - 9 March: Inverness and Loch Ness Food and Drink Fortnight with lots of events and offers
1 March: Taste of Inverness at the Kingsmills Hotel (10am - 2pm) with stalls, demos and speakers
8 March: Shortbread Showdown Grand Final at Eden Court Theatre (10am - 2pm) with live music, food & drink stalls, etc.
9 March: Inverness Half Marathon and 5K
6 - 9 and 13 - 16 March: Inverness Music Festival – local amateur competitions at Inverness Methodist Church
15 March: Strathpeffer Pavilion Food & Craft Fair (11am - 3pm)
18 - 19 April: Easter Egg Hunt around Inverness city centre plus Easter activities for kids in the Victorian Market
19 April: Annual Commemoration Service at Culloden Battlefield at 10.30am
26 April: Inverness Cathedral craft & food market (outdoors)
27 April: Etape Loch Ness epic cycle race
2 - 4 May: Crime & Thriller Festival at Cromarty on the Black Isle
3 - 4 May: Black Isle Belter music festival at the Black Isle Showground
3 - 4 May: Ultra X ultra marathons around Loch Ness (50km & 100km races)
9 - 11 May: Taste of Nairn celebrating local food and drink
10 - 11 May: Exclusively Highlands Art and Craft market at Wildwoodz near Munlochy (10 miles north of Inverness)
16 - 17 May: Beauly Buzz Festival
17 May: Inverness Classic Vehicle Show with around 150 classic and vintage vehicles on display in the city centre - plus music & entertainment
18 May: Inverness Performance Car Show with up to 1000 cars on display at Dores
22 - 25 May: The Quest for the Loch Ness Monster at The Loch Ness Centre, Drumnadrochit
24 May: The Gathering trad music festival in Inverness at the Northern Meeting Park
25 May: Vintage Day with classic / vintage cars, buses, tractors and more at the Highland Folk Museum in Newtonmore
29 May - 7 June: Inverness Festival of Walking and Wheeling
31 May: The Gin To My Tonic Gin, Rum & Vodka Festival at Eden Court Theatre
31 May: Ardersier Gala Classic Car Show and Parade
1 June: Race for Life in Inverness
7 June: Outlander Day at the Highland Folk Museum in Newtonmore
7 June: The Loch Ness Classic and Vintage Car Tour starting and finishing in Inverness
7 June: Beauly Distilled - drink (and food) festival at Beauly Holiday Park
7 June: Highland Pride march through Inverness city centre for the LGBTQ+ community with stalls and entertainment at Eden Court Theatre
14 June: Woodzstock music festival on the Black Isle
20 - 21 June: Inverness Provincial Mod - annual Gaelic competitions at Eden Court Theatre
28 June: Armed Forces Day Parade led by the Inverness Royal British Legion Scotland Band - starts at 1.45pm from the Eastgate Centre, through the High Street to Inverness Cathedral for a Drumhead service supported by the Inverness Military Wives Choir.
28 June: Bluesy Beauly music festival at the Beauly Holiday Park
2 July - 23 August: Under Canvas - live music and DJ sets on the lawn at Eden Court Theatre. This is a family-friendly event in stretch tents with a bar serving pizzas, local beers, gins, whisky, etc.
5 July: Scottish National Whisky Festival at Eden Court in Inverness
6 July: Kessock Ferry Swim - a 1200-metre swim across the tidal narrows South & North Kessock.
6 July: Scottish National Sprint Distance Triathlon Championships at Nairn
12 July: Inverness Highland Games
12 July: A Midsummer Night's Dream in the grounds of Cawdor Castle
24 July: Fčis Rois Cčilidh Trail - free Scottish music performance from 12 to 2pm at Abertarff House in Church Street, Inverness
26 July: Nairn Show - livestock exhibitions, craft fair, food stalls and amusements.
31 July - 2 August: Belladrum - Tartan Heart Festivalhuge music festival on the Belladrum Estate, near Beauly.
2 August: Inverness Comic Con at Inverness Leisure Centre
7 August: Black Isle Show at the Showground, Muir of Ord. 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.
8 - 9 August: Moy Country Fair (between Aviemore and Inverness).
9 August: Strathpeffer Highland Gathering in the grounds of Castle Leod.
9 - 10 August: Celebration of the Centuries at Fort George near Inverness - re-enactment event depicting over 2000 years of Scottish history
16 August: Nairn Highland Games
23 August: Truckness at the Black Isle Showground, Muir Of Ord.
23 August: Glenurquhart Highland Games at Drumnadrochit, Loch Ness
23 August: Inverness Cathedral craft & food market (outdoors)
28 August: Much Ado About Nothing in the grounds of Cawdor Castle
30 August - 7 September: Nairn Book & Arts Festival
6 September: Northern Star Country Music Festival at the Northern Meeting Park in Inverness
3 - 15 September: Blas Festival ceilidhs and concerts across the Highlands.
tbc early September: Kirking of the Council - civic procession from Inverness Town House to Ness Bank Church
11 - 12 September: Northern Meeting Piping Competition at Eden Court
13 - 14 September: Rat Race Coast to Coast - a 105-mile adventure race where participants run, bike and kayak from Nairn to Cawdor Castle and Loch Ness then down the Great Glen to Fort William and finish in Glen Coe.
14 September: Aviemore Triathlon starting with an open-water swim in Loch Morlich.
20 September: 2025 Tulloch Homes Camanachd Cup Final in Bught Park, Inverness
20 September: Wheels of Nairn - classic and modern vehicle show
28 September: Loch Ness Marathon plus 5K and 10K River Ness fun runs.
2 - 4 October: NessBookFest is the Inverness book festival - 'Nature' is the theme for 2025
tbc October: Highland Archaeology Festival
4 October: World Porridge Making Championship at Carrbridge
17 - 26 October: Loch and Land Festival - outdoor activities, taster sessions and more at this new local festival
25 - 26 October: Exclusively Highlands Autumn Craft market and food stalls at Wildwoodz near Munlochy (10 miles north of Inverness)
tbc November: Inverness Film Festival at Eden Court Theatre
tbc November: from Thursday to Sunday, Brodie Illuminated is when The National Trust for Scotland illuminates the grounds around Brodie Castle near Forres
tbc 5 November: Bonfire night and fireworks at Bught Park, Inverness
14 - 16 November: Exclusively Highlands Christmas craft & food fair at Eden Court Theatre in Inverness
late November: Christmas Lights switch-on in Falcon Square, Inverness
28 - 30 November: Exclusively Highlands Christmas craft & food fair at Eden Court Theatre in Inverness
31 December 2025: Red Hot Highland Fling Hogmanay concert at the Northern Meeting Park in Inverness