Thanks to everyone who came - our visitors, artists, traders, exhibitors, volunteers. Thanks to the sun for shining. Thanks to the people of Falkland for their patience. We had an absolute blast and we want to know what you think so if you can find the time, fill in the feedback form (Word doc 96KB) or for a quick fire feedback and any Big Tent stories, post up your comments on our facebook page.
Celebration of Fife talent tops Friday night at the Big Tent. This year’s Big Tent festival opens its doors on the evening of Friday 23rd July, kicking off at 6pm with a brilliant evening programme of entertainment for the whole family to enjoy. To celebrate Fife’s Year of Culture, the featured musical acts have very strong Fife connections with legend Kenny Anderson aka King Creosote as the headline act. Kenny Anderson has released over forty albums and is the founder of Fence Records, Fife’s best-known record label and hugely successful musical collective. He recently won the Ticketmaster singer/songwriter of the year award at The Tartan Clefs.
FOUND are an experimental pop band merging garage rock, melodic and electronic pop. They are red hot and have just won a Scottish BAFTA award. Inventive and highly creative, FOUND is a fantastic live band with a lot to say and a plethora of positive reviews.The Second Hand Marching Band has 16 – 22 members hailing from Fife, Edinburgh, and Glasgow and across Scotland. Formed at the end of 2007 the band play folk music influenced by a mixture of dance, pop and post-rock influence. They play a host of instruments including guitars, ukuleles, mandolins, accordions, trumpets, saxophones, marching drums, woodblocks, tambourines, violins, flutes and clarinets.
Also playing will be Das Contras, a six-piece pop, soul, folk and Latin band that call themselves “a six-headed musical monster with a Latin temperament, a worldly attitude, two devilish horns and a rock n roll heart.”.The Fife grown, Glasgow based band began as a duo and has grown into a six piece ensemble. Das Contras were winners of the 2006 PRS New Music Award. Some up and coming acoustic acts from Fife will also play on the night and will be announced at a later date. As well as the musical entertainment, Friday night revellers will also be able to listen to speakers discussing topical issues such as climate change and “What Would We Do All Day if We Weren't Buying Stuff We Don’t Need?” as well as a film to close the evening.
In the Wee Shindig there's a chance to dig out your dancing shoes and ceilidh away with the fantastic local Lomond Ceilidh Band. Ceilidh starts at 7pm and goes on for as long as you can dance!
St Andrews poet Brian Johnstone one of the founders of the StAnza poetry festival will perform with Trio Verso placing his poems in a musical context and providing improvised musical accompaniment to the poetry in a jazz-style.
You can head up to the Head Zone for a panel discusion with the Climate Champions Panel with the No Impact Man film in the Take One Action solar powered tent.
For the children, Arborantics will provide wooden games and toys and there's Zumba dancing to get you in a festival mood.
The One Planet Food Village means that families can enjoy delicious, organic and artisan-produced food and drink of the highest quality whilst dancing the night away.
Scotland’s leading green festival has now announced a fully packed programme of events for this year’s massive three day showcase. This complements a brilliant music line-up featuring Rosanne Cash, King Ceosote, Brazil! Brazil!, Session A9 and a host of other great music acts from around the globe. As well as being renowned for its fantastic music and a strong focus on global song and dance The Big Tent Festival is also recognised for its thought-provoking and inspiring green messages and family fun.
Within the beautiful surroundings of the Falkland Estate, this year’s festival will be tackling some of the world’s biggest ethical questions through poetry, demonstrations, debates, story-telling and much more. On opening night, Trio Verso will be performing with one of the founders of the StAnza poetry festival, providing musical improvisation to Brian Johnstone’s wonderful poetry. There will also be the first chance to view the Solar Cinema offerings with the film “No Impact Man”. Big Tent will then be well and truly underway with Friday night’s Ceilidh for the whole family, with music provided by Fife’s very own Lomond Ceilidh Band, led by Alan Small.
Adelaide Sosseh
Visitors will be spoilt for choice on Saturday as each and every one of Big Tent’s zones bustles with topical debates and poignant discussions. In the Head Zone Pat Kane will discuss the Ecology of Play and Adelaide Sosseh will lead a talk on the theme Moving with Africa. Bill McKibben will present the UK launch of his new book EAARTH via live video feed, whilst Grassroots Zimbabwe will hold a special workshop demonstration.
In the Talk Tent the One Planet Food Report with Teresa Martinez and Kirtana Chandrasekaran is sure to be very insightful and in the early evening, in the Solar Cinema, there will be a chance to see Taking Root: the Vision of Wangari. Taking Root is an multi-award winning As part of the poetry programme, Mandy Haggith, Anna Crowe and Gerry Loose and will be performing throughout the day, bringing their love of poetic verse to the inspirational landscape of Falkland Estate and Sounds of Falkland with Louise K Wilson and David Chapman will bring the unique sights and sounds of Falkland to life in an exciting audio-visual arts project.The twosome have used the area’s geological and archaeological features to create temporary ‘art sites’ where their interpretations can be seen and heard.
Over at the Wood and Craft Zone, exhibitors will display and demonstrate all manner of wonderful crafting skills and highlights include the Woodland Orchestra led by Henry Fosbrooke. Bernard Planterose will be presenting Building with timber, inhabiting the forest, reskilling. Rick Worrell will discuss 21st century woodlands: seeding a better future.
As Sunday dawns, Big Tenters can wake up with Libertad Coffee in the Talk Tent. WWF Scotland will talk about Palm Oil and Sustainability, Lesley Riddoch will discuss Islands of Inspiration and in the Solar Cinema the day starts with a film from Take One Action called FOOD INC. The Moving with Africa theme will be further developedincluding debates with Oxfam, there will be presentations from b of the Holyrood 350 campaign and Betsy Reed the Director of Scottish Fair Trade Forum. Mr McFall’s Chamber with Victor Fillena, Cyril Garac and Valentine Martinez will be doing what they do best - wowing the crowds with the diversity and range of musical talent that reflects everything the Big Tent music festival is about.
As visitors wander amongst the many stalls and exhibits, they will also discover Roots and Flutes, the sounds and stories of some of the world’s oldest instruments with Bob Pegg and talks from all the craftsmen and women as we Meet the Makers – where each exhibitor holds a short talk on their trade. The Scottish Ecological Design Association (SEDA) will have their own unique stand, designed and built as a practical and inspirational demonstration of local materials and focusing on the use of local, Falkland wood - which will provide the space for demonstrations, displays, discussions, slide shows and talks.The slideshow will illustrate a range of ecological design projects by SEDA members – and there will a range of materials, samples and displays of different "green" products and materials. SEDA will hold workshop/ discussion sessions twice a day on "Greening your Home" for people who are interested in refurbishing, altering, converting or renovating their existing home to reduce their carbon footprint. These are just a few of the high points of an extensive weekend programme full of diverse and wonderfully unique events to enlighten the hearts of anyone with a passion for green issues, global cultures and music.
10 June 2010
The Big Tent Festival is Scotland’s leading green festival and with the recent confirmation of some of the biggest acts on the global circuit, 2010 is going to be the music festival’s biggest year ever. Opening night is Friday 23rd July. The three day extravaganza will kick off with Fife’s finest festival performer and the founder of the Fence Collective, King Creosote, flanked by the unrivalled talents of Scottish BAFTA winners FOUND, the eclectic brilliance of The Second Hand Marching Band and the fiery Latin beat of Das Contras.
TUNNG
Make sure you sleep well, because Saturday is absolutely packed with global talent, from the phenomenal Afro-Brazilian flair of Brazil! Brazil!, to the fantastic Big Tent exclusive, Session A9. They will be joined by the utterly inspiring Zawose Family and the wonderfully diverse indie-pop of Scottish band Aberfeldy. The creatively experimental Tunng will be bringing their eccentric blend of folk music to the mix whilst Mr McFall’s Chamber with Victor Fillena, Cyril Garac and Valentine Martinez, will be doing what they do best - wowing the crowds with the diversity and range of musical talent that reflects everything the Big Tent music festival is about.
Sunday is traditionally a day of rest and relaxation, but at Scotland’s leading green festival, the music is as brilliant as ever. Highlights will include performances by the 2008 TRAD awards best folk band, The Chair and an extremely intimate and exclusive acoustic set from the Grammy award-winning Rosanne Cash accompanied by husband John Leventhal. Also appearing on Sunday will be the Hidden Orchestra (formerly Joe Acheson Quartet) and Nuala Kennedy. With another chance to catch Brazil! Brazil!, the Zawose Family, the Chipolatas, Grassroots Zimbabwe, the Homecoming String Band and many many more, Sunday concludes Big Tent in style. These are just a few of the highlights of a weekend full of diverse and wonderfully unique events to enlighten the hearts of anyone with a passion for global cultures and their music. Big Tent is Scotland’s number one green festival and there are still massive discounts to be gained by joining the bid to reduce your carbon footprint. See the Big Tent website for our Big Green Discount!
6 June 2010
10 June 2010
May 20th, 2010
The Big Tent, known as Scotland's leading environmental festival, is stepping up its global performance programme with the announcement of this year's festival theme - 'Moving with Africa'.
Following the recent confirmation of its local music programme, the Big Tent announces its global performance line-up which includes the Zawose Family from Tanzania, Grassroots Zimbabwe and Brazil! Brazil!
Dana MacLeod, Cultural Programme Director for Big Tent said: "The Big Tent's world music programme has been steadily flourishing over our five year history. This year we are proud to announce an increased international element across the debates, film, performance and children's event programme".
Behind these incredible performance artists is also an interesting story to tell and we hope to give the opportunity to do this. The Zawose Family are completely unlike anything I've seen before, their performance style is unique to their own family, it is very delicate and magical.
Theatre ensemble Grassroots Zimbabwe are taking a risk in presenting their heartfelt and powerful work in the UK which is undeniably politically influenced. On a lighter note, they will give festival goers a whole new meaning for those ubiquitous festival wellies by running Gumboot Dance workshops!"
She continued: "Brazil!Brazil! have been touring the great stages of the world and it's an honour that they will be with us for the whole weekend. Their performance is not least a jaw-dropping display of acrobatic dance and infectious Afro-Brazilian music, but also an expression of street cultures from the Favelas of Brazil. I am sure their fusion of street football and percussion will be particularly memorable as World Cup fever kicks in."
Hailing from Tanzania, the phenomenal Zawose Family has been a celebrated and enduring feature of world music since the early 1990's. Dressed in costumes made from goatskins andZAWOSE FAMILYporcupine quills, with ostrich feathered headdresses, the Zawose musical dynasty started with revered musician Hukwe Zawose, who began his singing career in the villages of Tanzania, entertaining working villagers.
Peter Gabriel has been a champion of their music and made the first recordings of their music on his Real World record label catapulting the Zawose Family into international recognition from their small village in Tanzania. Committed to ensuring the beautiful harmonies and infectious rhythms that typified Hukwe's music live on, the family are a living legacy of his work and continue to be part of Real World Records.
Hukwe was committed to building the foundations for the preservation of the musical tradition of the Wagogo tribe and since his death in 2003; his musical tradition has survived thanks to his seven wives, over 40 children and the rest of the community.The new generation of Zawoses continue to make fantastic music and delight audiences worldwide with their extraordinary singing and dancing, elaborate costumes and unique talents.
Grassroots Zimbabwe communicate the traditions of Zimbabwe in their song and dance whilst also presenting poignant expression of Harare today in their theatre shows. Using dance, drama and music as a process towards informing and empowering local communities in Zimbabwe and overseas.
As the name suggests, Brazil!Brazil! will bring some Afro-Brazilian flair to the Big Tent. Combining the extraordinary martial art of Capoeira with the music and dance of carnival, and the energetic skills of Brazilian street football, Brazil! Brazil! encompass all of the power and the passion that is Brazil today. Undeniable masters of Capoeira, they have been captivating audiences around the world with their acrobatics, killer moves and carnival music.
Grammy-award winning singer and songwriter Rosanne Cash is coming back to her ancestral home in Fife this summer. To honour the occasion she will be playing an intimate and acoustic set with her husband John Leventhal at this year's Big Tent Festival at Falkland Estate on Sunday 25th July, as part of Celebrating Fife 2010.
Rosanne will be making a personal visit to Falkland during Big Tent, Scotland's environmental festival. Falkland Estate and the surrounding area in the Howe of Fife is the ancestral home of the Cash family and there are many strong local connections and a great deal of family heritage in this place.
Having visited the area frequently, Rosanne has a deep and abiding affection and affinity for this special place that was also held in such affection by her father Johnny Cash, who passed on his pleasure and pride in his roots to his daughter. She is very supportive and passionate about the work that is being undertaken by the Falkland Centre for Stewardship to safeguard and restore the House of Falkland and Falkland Estate and is keen to help the charity as much as she can.
Rosanne Cash said: "I'm thrilled to visit Fife once again, and delighted to perform at the Big Tent Festival. Falkland is one of the most special places on earth to me, and I look forward to meeting new friends and continuing my ancestral connection."
The current Steward of Falkland Estate, Ninian Stuart added: "I'm absolutely delighted that Rosanne Cash is going to perform at Big Tent 2010. Rosanne has been a great friend and supporter of the work that we have been undertaking to transform this old estate into a community asset for today and future generations. Her performance at the Big Tent Festival as part of "Celebrating Fife 2010" will see the realisation of a shared dream that we have been discussing for a few years. I believe this will be a fantastic and moving performance as she reconnects with her Fife and celtic roots, and sings of her ancestors."
Paul Bush OBE, Chief Operating Officer at EventScotland, the national events agency, said: "EventScotland is delighted to be supporting The Big Tent, Scotland's largest eco-festival, for what is set to be another fantastic year. This event attracts thousands of people from all over the country, and having an artist like Rosanne Cash demonstrates the growing international appeal of The Big Tent.
"The Big Tent is part of Celebrating Fife 2010, a themed year of celebration for the area and one of the many fantastic legacies coming out of Scotland's year of Homecoming. We look forward to seeing the benefits which will be generated for Fife in the coming year through this fantastic programme of events."
As part of our activities towards the Big Tent, we are pleased to invite craft makers to a Celebrating Crafts Seminar in Falkland. This seminar will provide an opportunity for up to twenty makers to come together to explore the landscape and environment of Falkland Estate, to look at issues around sustainability and to meet and learn from specialists in the field. This is a free event for crafts people but numbers are limited. We are looking to invite craft makers from a range of mediums so if you are interested, please visit Falkland Centre for Stewardship's website where you will find a form to complete.
A Place Apart will occupy a quiet corner in the unfinished Memorial Chapel. Here we will share poems, stories and music that connects us to the natural world, focusing on the uniqueness of places and taking delight in being alive in the here and now.
On Friday night Trio Verso will open the programme in A Place Apart with Brian Johnstone reading his poetry to improvised music from Richard Ingham (saxophone, bass clarinet) and?Louise Major (double bass).
Poets who will be reading and discussing their work, as well as leading walks with words through the woods and workshops over the weekend include:
Anna Crowe: poet, translator and creative writing tutor living in St Andrews. Anna co-founded StAnza, the St Andrews poetry festival, and was Artistic Director for its first seven years. Her published work includes Punk with Dulcimer (Peterloo, 2005).
Mandy Haggith: an extraordinarily talented writer of poetry, prose and fiction as well as being a 'cybercrofter' in Assynt and passionate campaigner on behalf of the world's forests. Her first poetry collection, Castings (Two Ravens Press 2007) was widely acclaimed.
Brian Johnstone: co-founder and until this year Festival Director of StAnza. Brian will be reading from his new collection of poems, The Book of Belongings (Arc, 2009), as well as performing with Trio Verso on Friday night.
Gerry Loose, 'a slow-moving nomad', lives in Glasgow, writes poems and makes gardens; his poems are as often found planted in gardens as on the printed page. His most recent collection of poems is that person himself (Shearsman 2009), and he's currently working on a book about Sunart oakwoods, Ardnamurchan.
Tessa Ransford: Founder/Director of the Scottish Poetry Library, Tessa has numerous published poetry collections, including Not Just Moonshine (Luath, 2008). She is a freelance poetry adviser and practitioner, with special interest in relating poetry to those working creatively in other fields.
In the adjacent Lapidus poetry tent there will be workshops on writing.
poetry of place - culminating each day with open-mic sessions in the chapel for new poets to read their work.
Lapidus will also be hosting family workshops as part of REMIND MIND REMEMBER, a collaborative project between sculptor/letter carver Ian Newton, poet/ecologist Larry Butler and geology professor Stuart Haszeldene. making site specific installations, living sculptures and poems (warnings, tributes and epitaphs):
This is a 5 day re-skilling event in Falkland, Fife, which will run 3 days before the Big Tent Festival, and 2 days alongside it. There will be workshops on a variety of non-oil based skills, which will range from the deeply traditional, e.g. drystane dyking, blacksmithing or dye craft, to much more 'everyday' skills e.g. clothes making, woodstove skills (choosing, chopping and storing wood etc) and compost making, as well as the skills needed to keep the event running like cooking for large numbers! There will also be strands on 'Transition thinking' including how to make re-skilling events happen in your own community. The programme is yet to be finalised, but if you're interested in this event, get the dates in your diary now!
Children are being encouraged to let their creativity run wild with art classes on Falkland Estate.
Working with local artist Sandra Davie, there are six art classes over the Easter break to choose from. As part of the Big Tent preparations, children/young people will be drawing images of Fife - whether that's famous people, buildings, animals or favourite Fife places. The drawings will form a prominent part of the Big Tent decor and are part of the Big Tent's plans to Celebrate Fife in 2010.
The children will be working with charcoal so bring old clothes (they may get ruined!).
Numbers are limited so booking essential. By Phone: 01337 858838 By Email: info@centreforstewardship.org.uk. £3 charge includes all materials and refreshments.
There are six sessions:
Under 8s are welcome but they must be accompanied at all times be an adult who must remain responsible for them.
Big Tent organisers - Falkland Centre for Stewardship - are holding a free one-day public information wood event in the Stables Workshop, giving you as much information as possible on converting wood fuel. This event will provide all sorts of information from experts in supplying, installing and operating woodstoves, as well as growing and supplying log fuel, and gives you opportunities to discuss your concerns or ideas in detail with them.
Presentations will cover:
Presenters are: Stewart McKenna who ran Forest Fire in Edinburgh, one of the first shops in Scotland supplying and installing woodstoves for over 35 years, Simon Lockwood who manages small woods with Scottish Native Woods, supplying woodfuel and helping woodland owners use their woods for woodfuel, and Nick Marshall who runs Scottish Woodfuels News websites and newsletters. Nick has provided information for woodfuel projects with Reforesting Scotland over 10 years.
Numbers are limited so booking is required. Call 01337 858838 or email info@centreforstewardship.org.uk.
Discounted early bird tickets for this year’s Big Tent Festival have been extended with the 10% discount on advance ticket bookings now due to end at midnight on Sunday 16th May.
This year marks the festival’s fifth anniversary and promises to be even bigger and better than previous years, with an extended and exciting programme of activities and entertainment now running over 3 days from 6pm on Friday 23rd until 9pm on Sunday 25th July.
Showcasing some of the biggest and best local and international music, the 3 day festival will include performances from King Creosote, Aberfeldy, FOUND, The Zawose Family and Grammy-award winning singer and songwriter Rosanne Cash.
Alongside a fantastic programme of music and dance, there will also be a showcase of worldwide talent including lively debates, poetic recitations, traditional arts and crafts workshops and cookery demonstrations, all in tune with the three main themes of the event:
The Big Tent is a family friendly festival with extensive activities for children such as craft-making, story-telling and face-painting. There will be an on-site solar-powered cinema offering big screen magic and Mr Boom, one of Scotland’s most popular entertainers will be making a return appearance as street performers amuse parents and children alike as they make their way between the tented “zones”.
Helen Lawrenson, Centre Director, Falkland Centre for Stewardship said: “Big Tent is a flagship event in Fife’s 2010 Year of Culture and is sure to be extremely popular. Last year’s event was a sell out and we’d really like to encourage people to book their tickets well in advance to secure their place. Big Tent is still one of the most affordable festivals on the circuit by a considerable margin, but we’d urge as many people as possible to book early to secure the current discounts. People should also look out for our green incentives discount which we will be launching soon.”
Further programme information and details on where to get your tickets can be found on the Big Tent website at www.bigtentfestival.co.uk
Tickets are also available to be purchased online via www.ticketmaster.co.uk
Big Tent will open its doors on the Friday evening kicking off at 6pm with a brilliant programme of evening entertainment suitable for all the family.
To help celebrate Fife's Year of Culture, the featured musical acts have very strong Fife connections with legend Kenny Anderson aka King Creosote as the headline act.
Second Hand Marching Band has 16 - 22 members hailing from Fife, Edinburgh, and Glasgow and across Scotland. Formed at the end of 2007 the band play folk music influenced by a mixture of dance, pop and post-rock influence. They play guitars, ukuleles, mandolins, triangles, accordions, trumpets, tenor horns, saxophones, trombones, glockenspiel, and castanets, marching drums, melodic as, woodblocks, tambourines, bells, violins, flutes, clarinets and other stuff.
Also playing will be Das Contras, a six-piece pop, soul, folk and Latin band that call themselves "a six-headed musical monster with a Latin temperament, a worldly attitude, two devilish horns and a rock n roll heart."
The Fife grown, Glasgow based band began as a duo and has grown into a 6 piece ensemble.
With an eclectic, original sound, the Das are a bit folk, a bit rock, a bit Latino and bit reggae and just like their own music, their influences criss-cross genres and include Love, Manu Chao, Tiger Lilies, and The Specials among others.
Das Contras were winners of the 2006 PRS New Music Award.
Friday night will conclude with a family ceilidh performed by Fife's very own Lomond Ceilidh Band, led by Alan Small from Auchtermuchty, that will have parents and kids jigging and partying between 8pm and 11pm.
Big Tent is a true playground for children with lots of things to do such as craft-making, story-telling with Blether-Tay-Gether and face-painting with Cool Faces.
Other confirmed activities include willow weaving, wooden games with Arborantics, dancing, singing, performances, theatre, music, shadow puppets, The Call of the Loon Bird puppet show with Clydebuilt Theatre, music making, Dance-A-Story with Adele Reynolds and a host of creative workshops. Also craft from an organisation called Crafty Beggars who'll be doing various things like felt making, basket weaving, wood turning.
The Grassroots Zimbabwe theatre company use dance, music and performing arts to entertain as well as to foster international understanding about global development issues.
There will be an on-site solar-powered cinema offering big screen magic and Mr Boom, one of Scotland's most popular entertainers will return.
The hugely popular and brilliantly talented Chipolatas will once again be performing their trademark high - energy show that combines juggling, music, clowning and a sprinkling of acrobatics.
Street performers will amuse parents and children alike and the fun-filled and packed programme is likely to leave children tired but happy at the end of a visit.