Blas Festival Early Bird Offers

(Scroll down for Gaelic version)

Catch worms if you want but what’s a more appealing option if you are an early bird is that you can take advantage of really attractive ticket prices for this year’s Blas Festival.
Though Blas will take place in September there has already been considerable interest in tickets for the more than forty different Festival events taking place throughout the Highlands and Islands. For those who book up tickets between now and the end of June great reductions are available on the full-price tickets. For example, a £4 reduction can be secured on tickets for a Blas concert in Strontian featuring Phil Cunningham & Aly Bain, Donald Black & Malcolm Jones and Gary Innes. Another Blas concert, staged in Kingussie and featuring the Cape Breton band Beòlach with their countryman, Troy MacGillivray and Lewis singer, Calum Alex MacMillan will cost the ‘early bird’ £9 rather than the normal full price of £12. These reductions are typical of those offered across the range of Blas events this year.
“It suits the Festival to begin to fill seats at this stage”, explains Blas’s Director, Donna Cunningham.” We know that events we are staging will attract big audiences and from a logistical point of view it is better to begin selling tickets now rather than be inundated with requests at the last moment. That is why we are ‘rewarding’ so generously those who book their seats early.”
Blas will run from 1st to the 9th September and the finalised programme which was published last week features an exiting range of more than 30 shows. These shows will take place in place ranging from Nairn in the east to Kilmuir in the west, and from Strathy in the north to Strontian in the south. “Each one of the events we have organised will feature top quality traditional and Gaelic music,“ according to Donna, “and there are very few parts of the Highlands which are outwith striking distance of the diverse venues staging the events. So we would urge folk to check out the delights featured in the Blas programme and book up now to take advantage of the our ‘earlybird’ offer.”
So the choice is yours – catch worms if you must or benefit now from significant reductions on tickets for the Blas Festival.

A’ leantainn fèis shoirbheachail na bliadhna an uiridh, cha bhi dreach Blas na bliadhna-sa ag atharrachadh ach ann an dòigh no dhà. Ach is cudthromach a tha na h-atharraichean sin agus bi iad gu maith luchd-èisdeachd na fèise.
Mar a bha i an uridh, tha Blas 2006 gu bhith luma-làn chuirmean tarruingeach agus bi luchd-ciùil a tha a’ cluich air fìor àrd ìre a nochdadh aca sin. Ach tha dà sgìre eile ag gabhail pàirt san fhèis am bliadhna – Inbhir Narann agus Bàideanach ‘is Strathspè. Cuideachd tha tiocaid air a bheil ‘Earlybird’ na rud ùr eile. Tha seo a’ toirt prìsean nas saoire dhaibh-san a cheannaicheas iad roimh dheireadh na h-Òg-Mhios. Mar sin, an àite trì nota deug a chosg air tiocaid airson cuirm ann an Sròn t-Sithein aig a bi Phil Coineigin, Aly Bain, Malcolm Jones agus Dòmhnall Mac ‘Ille Dhuibh a cluich, gheidh sibh e airson naoi notaichean. Tha cothrom aig daoine airgead a chùmhnadh air tiocaidean airson gach cuirm san fhèis ach feumaidh iad a bhith air an ceannachd ro thoiseachd an Iuchair.
A-rèir Donna Choineigin, stiùiriche na fèise, tha e freagairt glè mhath air Blas cuideas fhaighinn de thiocaidean aig an ìre-sa. “Tha làn dhùil againn gum bi fèill mhòr air tiocaidean nan cuirmean co-dhiù agus an àite gnothaichean fhàgail chun a’ mhionaid mu-dheireadh agus a h-uile duine nam bol gus greim fhaighinn orra, tha e a’ dèanamh ciall dhuinne daoine a bhrosnachadh gus tiocaidean a cheannach an-dràsta. Is ann air sàileamh sin tha na iad gan reic nas saoire suas gu deireadh na h-Og Mhios.”
Gu dearbh bi cuirmean Blas air leth tarruingeach dhan luchd-èisdeachd oir tha an t-uamhas rionnagan mòra bho air feadh na Gaidhealtachd ‘s nan eileanan, Èirinn agus Canada a’ gabhail pàirt.  Tha a h-uile coltas ann gum bi fèis Blas 2006 pailt cho math, mur a bi nas fheàrr, na tè na bliadhna ‘n uiridh.
A-measg an fheadhainn a bhitheas a’ nochdadh aig fèis Blas san t-Sultaine bi Capercaillie, Jenna Cumming, Blazin’ Fiddles agus Phil Cunningham & Aly Bain. Còmhla riutha sin, bi an còmhlan òg a Ceap Bhreatuinn, Beòlach agus Michael McGoldrick à Èirinn. Bi Blas ag amas air prìomhachas a thoirt do luchd-ciùil ionadail, òg, troimh’n fhèis. Thathar an dòchas seo a choilionadh troimh Cèilidh Trailers bho na Fèisean agus oileanaich bho Sgoil Chiùil na Gàidhealtachd anns a’ Phloc.