2022 Events in Inverness & Scottish Highlands
Highland Games - Festivals - Music

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

Please check the latest Covid restrictions and check with event organisers if you are travelling for a specific event. See 2022 calendar below.

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.

Music in pubs/bars/hotels:
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 main bridge), the Market Bar (Church Street) and The Tooth & Claw (tucked away in Baron Taylor's Street).
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.

For summer 2022, the Inverness Royal British Legion Pipe Band will be playing outside Marks and Spencers in the city centre every Tuesday night at 7pm starting from 28th June.

Events in 2022:

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

15 - 16 January: Strathpuffer 24-hour Mountain Bike Endurance Event in Strathpeffer CANCELLED
12 February: Inverness Chinese New Year Celebrations and street parade
25 February - 6 March: The Inverness Music Festival
5 March: The Snowman Rally organised by the Highland Car Club. Start/finish at The Black Isle Showground, Muir of Ord. Parade through Dingwall.
13 March: Inverness Half Marathon and 5K
9 - 10 April: Exclusively Highlands craft and food market in Grantown on Spey
15 - 16 April: Easter Egg Hunt around Inverness city centre
16 April: Annual Commemoration Service at Culloden Battlefield
16 - 17 April: Exclusively Highlands Easter market with food, drink and crafts at Wildwoodz just outside Inverness
17 April: Man V Horse Scotland where runners go head-to-head with horses on a 12 km or 24 km circuit on South Loch Ness.
24 April: Etape Loch Ness cycle race
6 - 8 May: Crime & Thriller Festival at Cromarty on the Black Isle
7 May: Inverness Farmers Market
20 - 22 May: The LochNess360 Challenge - 3 marathons, an ultra marathon or a mountain bike challenge.
21 May: Inverness Classic Vehicle Show with around 150 classic and vintage vehicles on display in the city centre - plus music & entertainment
28 May: The Gathering is a music festival in Inverness at the Northern Meeting Park
28 May: Farmers Market in Nairn
4 June: Inverness Farmers Market
12 June: High Life Highland (HLH) pipers and drummers will perform a Beating Retreat in the main hall at Inverness Leisure at 3pm (doors open at 2.40pm, entry by donation). Also includes members of Lochaber High School Senior Wind Band, Inverness Schools Wind Band, and East Highland Concert Band.
17 - 18 June: Inverness Provincial Mod - annual Gaelic competitions at Eden Court Theatre
18 June: Woodzstock music festival on the Black Isle
25 June: European Pipe Band Championships over 4000 pipers and drummers at Bught Park, Inverness.
1 July - 27 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.
2 July: Inverness Farmers Market
2 July: Duran Duran in concert in Inverness at the Caledonian Stadium
2 July: The National Whisky Festival of Scotland at Eden Court in Inverness
2 July: Skipinnish in concert at Bught Park, Inverness
3 July: Texas in concert at Bught Park, Inverness
16 July: Inverness Highland Games (200th anniversary). Tickets on sale from 17 June
16 July: Farmers Market in Nairn
24 July: Nairn Triathlon with an open water swim alongside Nairn beach, a cycle in the Nairnshire countryside and a run along the beach front.
28 - 30 July: Belladrum - Tartan Heart Festival on the Belladrum Estate, near Beauly.
30 July: Nairn Show - livestock exhibitions, craft fair, food stalls and amusements.
4 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.
5 - 6 August: Highland Field Sports Fair at Moy Hall (between Aviemore and Inverness).
6 August: Strathpeffer Highland Gathering in the grounds of Castle Leod.
6 August: Inverness Farmers Market
12 August: Amy MacDonald in concert at the Northern Meeting Park, Inverness
13 August: Truckness at the Black Isle Showground, Muir Of Ord. 10th anniversary year.
20 August: Nairn Highland Games
27 August: Glenurquhart Highland Games at Drumnadrochit, Loch Ness
27 - 28 August: Loch Ness 24 - a new 24-hour solo or team relay trail running race with 7 km laps along the shore of Loch Ness near Aldourie Castle.
tbc end August : Northern Meeting Piping Competition at Eden Court
27 August - 3 September: Nairn Book & Arts Festival
2 - 4 September: Dandelion Festival at the Northern Meeting Park, Inverness A unique festival to inspire people to 'sow, grow and share' - food, music, knowledge and ideas - featuring live music, workshops, theatre, science and more.
2 - 10 September: Blas Festival ceilidhs and concerts across the Highlands.
3 September: Inverness Farmers Market
10 - 11 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.
18 September: Aviemore Triathlon starting with an open-water swim in Loch Morlich.
24 September - 14 October: Highland Archaeology Festival
1 October: Inverness Farmers Market
2 October: Loch Ness Marathon plus 5K and 10K River Ness fun runs.
6 - 8 October: NessBookFest - Inverness book festival
8 October: World Porridge Making Championship at Carrbridge
tbc 22 – 28 October: Caledonian Canal Flotilla celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Caledonian Canal
23 October: The Culloden Run is a 17.46 km run from the battlefield to the Clava Cairns, River Nairn and the viaduct, or a 10 km option.
Halloween: Whin Park - tbc
5 November: Bonfire night and fireworks - tbc
5 November: Inverness Farmers Market
late November: Inverness Christmas lights switch on - tbc
November and December: Christmas craft fairs by Exclusively Highlands, venues to be confirmed
tbc November: Brodie Illuminated - when The National Trust for Scotland illuminates the grounds around Brodie Castle near Forres
26 November: Farmers Market in Nairn (Christmas market)
3 December: Inverness Farmers Market
15 December: The Proclaimers in concert at the Inverness Leisure Centre
17 December: Inverness Farmers Market (Christmas market)
Hogmanay concert - tbc