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. 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.

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.

Events in 2021:

Due to Covid, please check with event organisers before making plans to attend any events as many events may be rescheduled or cancelled.

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)
4 - 12 September: Nairn Book & Arts Festival
25 September - 15 October: Highland Archaeology Festival - for this year there is a programme of online talks and some guided walks
30 September - 2 October: NessBookFest - Inverness book festival
3 October: Loch Ness Marathon plus 5K and 10K River Ness fun runs.
4 - 6 October: Highland Golf Links Pro Am at Castle Stuart, Nairn golf club and Royal Dornoch
9 October: World Porridge Making Championship at Carrbridge
8 - 16 October: Royal National Mod - Gaelic competitions and concerts at Eden Court. Postponed from 2020.
22 - 24 October: Exclusively Highlands open air craft market at Wildwoodz near Inverness
3 - 8 November: Spirit of Speyside whisky festival (distilleries around Moray & Speyside)
3 - 27 November: Brodie Illuminated (Wednesdays to Saturdays) when The National Trust for Scotland illuminates the grounds around Brodie Castle near Forres
19 - 21 November: Exclusively Highlands Craft Market at Wildwoodz near Inverness
19 - 27 November: Blas Festival ceilidhs and concerts across the Highlands.
3 - 5 December: Exclusively Highlands Craft Market at Wildwoodz near Inverness
4 December: Inverness Farmers Market - city centre
10 December: a special show 'LIVE@XMAS' headlined by Skipinnish at Inverness Leisure Centre
11 - 12 December: Cawdor Castle Christmas Market with street food, craft stalls, artisan food market, children’s activities and a lineup of live entertainment.
18 December: Inverness Farmers Market - city centre

Events for 2022
Some dates have already been fixed for next year:

13 March 2022: Inverness Half Marathon and 5K
16 April: Annual Commemoration Service at Culloden Battlefield
24 April 2022: Etape Loch Ness cycle race
20 - 22 May 2022: The LochNess360 Challenge - 3 marathons, an ultra marathon or a mountain bike challenge.
28 May 2022: The Gathering is a music festival in Inverness at the Northern Meeting Park
11 June 2022: Truckness at Dores, by Loch Ness. 10th anniversary year.
25 June 2022: European Pipe Band Championships over 4000 pipers and drummers at Bught Park, Inverness.
2 July 2022: Skipinnish in concert at Bught Park, Inverness
3 July 2022: Texas in concert at Bught Park, Inverness
15 July 2022: Inverness Highland Games (200th anniversary)
28 - 30 July 2022 Belladrum - Tartan Heart Festival on the Belladrum Estate, near Beauly.
4 August 2022: 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.
5 - 6 August 2022: Highland Field Sports Fair at Moy Hall (between Aviemore and Inverness).
13 August 2022: Olly Murs in concert at the Northern Meeting Park in Inverness