Join in the fun in a galaxy far, far away at Aberdour Festival

Labelled as “probably the best small festival in the galaxy”, for 2019, the 10-day extravaganza will this year be celebrating 50 years since man first landed on the moon.

The event has something for everyone and will feature a host of live musicians, across a range of genres, and there is also a wealth of talent from the world of sport, comedy, dance, literature and the visual arts.

The 36th event gets under way next Friday (July 26) with a Scarecrow Hunt in Aberdour with Aberdour ART Festival holding its opening event in the evening with various venues around the village taking part.

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On Saturday (July 27) there will be the crowning of the royal party in Shore Road Park at 10am before the festival parade.

Aberdour’s newly-crowned regal representatives will lead the parade through the village in true majestic style to the sounds of Dysart Colliery Brass Band.

Locals are invited to join the fabulously colourful crowd and dress up in an ‘outer space’ theme in celebration of the annual event.

The parade will go from Shore Road playpark up to the High Street, before heading down Hawkcraig Road to the primary school, ready for gala day to start with the ever -popular village sports day.

The gala day will run from 10.45 am to 5pm and the sports day will be complemented by art festival exhibitions, a flower festival, roller disco experience and a family ceilidh in the evening at Aberdour Castle.

Sunday is the village market and fun day and the Donkey Brae Run is on from 1pm with a festival bingo and barbecue at 4.30pm. Also in the afternoon there is the easter versus wester Aberdour football match.

Throughout the week there will be various events, activities and talks including: A Cosmos Planetarium; James Crawford, author, historian and presenter of the BBC’s ‘Scotland from the sky’ who will be landing at the church hall to share Scotland’s story from a very different angle; a comedy night with award-winning film-maker and former Scottish Comedian of the Year runner-up Rick Molland will be held in the Woodside Hotel and he will be joined by stand up comedian from Fife Stuart McPherson and Aussie comedian Ro Campbell.

Aberdeenshire folk singer Iona Fyfe is one of Scotland’s finest young ballad singers and she will be performing in The Woodside Hotel on July 30 while The Coaltown Daisies take to the stage in the same venue on July 31.

And on August 2 at the Institute/library, writer and broadcaster Stuart Cosgrove will be talking about his critically-acclaimed Soul Trilogy of books, ‘Detroit 67’, ‘Memphis 68’ and ‘Harlem 69.’

Throughout the week there will be various activities for youngsters including a games zone at the Institute, a slime-making workshop, a graffiti workshop and bug hunt.

On Saturday, August 3, there will be the beach day from 9.30am onwards at Black Sands beach with the sandcastle competition organised by the Aberdour Baby and Toddler Group.

Helen Pearson, chairwoman of the festival, said: “This year the festival has a cosmic space theme to it as we’re celebrating 50 years since man first set foot on the moon.

“We’ve got some space-themed events, including a planetarium, space-themed talks from space industry professionals and enthusiasts alike, as well as a family-friendly performance of ‘A Piano on the Moon’ by Will Pickvance alongside our perennial favourites, the Donkey Brae run, comedy night, beach day and the village market.

“The village market has a new format for this year, taking more of a European Market feel.

“We’ve got over 25 different food stalls as well as loads of other craft and art vendors. From 2.30pm we’ve got the best bands from all over Fife playing on the main stage.

“We’ve also got our staple of speakers, covering everything from American Soul Music by one of the voices of ‘Off the Ball’, Stuart Cosgrove , to James Crawford talking about Scotland from the Sky.

“There really is something for everyone.”

For a full list of the events and attractions visit www.AberdourFestival.org.