Isle of Arran Historic Events Calendar 

Ladies open golf competition, strokeplay. Please contact club for details

13:30 A series of talks on various aspects of Arran, fortnightly on Tuesdays. Held in the Garden Room. No extra charge – Normal museum admission applies

Jim Crumley has been a full-time Scottish nature writer for 38 years and is the author of more than 40 books. His most recent title, Symphonic: Harmony in Nature and Why It Matters, was published by Saraband in February this year.

15:30 - 17:30 Andrew Greig has written twenty-plus collections of poetry, novels and non-fiction. Lesley Glaister is the prize-winning author of seventeen novels, a stage play, dramas for BBC radio drama, and two poetry pamphlets, as well as numerous short stories.

13:30 - 14:30 Ajay Close’s debut novel, Official and Doubtful, was longlisted for the Orange Prize. A Petrol Scented Spring, about the suffragettes force-fed in Perth, was longlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. Her seventh novel, What Doesn’t Kill Us, based on the Yorkshire Ripper killings and the feminist fightback across the north of England, was named Scottish Fiction Book of the Year.

Junior Open Competition - contact club for details.

19:30 - 20:30 Bestselling author, journalist and broadcaster Sally Magnusson has written several books for adults and children.
Kirsty Wark is a journalist, broadcaster and writer who has presented a wide range of BBC programmes for more than twenty five years.

11:30 - 14:30 Walk into the hinterlands of Whiting Bay, through stunning scenery, and see evidence of earlier civilisations.

Annual McLellan Book Festival featuring various events and speakers - see website for details

14:30 A concert celebrating nature with Deborah Nemko including pieces by Rachmaninov, Gershwin, McDowell and Frances Poulenc’s The Story of Babar with narrator Alice Maxwell.

14:30 Rossini’s glorious mass with McLellan Festival Chorus with conductor, Andrew Nunn.

8:30 - 11:30 Back for summer 2026! A morning of gentle yoga, delicious food, and great company at the beautiful beachside location of Cladach Beach House in Brodick. Suitable for all levels including complete beginners. This is about coming together to feel good through movement, food and community.
£30 (includes yoga, brunch and hot drink)

13:30 A series of talks on various aspects of Arran, fortnightly on Tuesdays. Held in the Garden Room. No extra charge – Normal museum admission applies

11:00 Arran-based dramatist Marty Ross presents DRYAD, a drama exploring the unsettling consequences of a construction company attempting to clear an ancient woodland with a sinister reputation. Performed as a journey through the landscape itself, with audience and performer moving together through the Roots of Arran woodland between Brodick and Lamlash. Marty Ross writes for the BBC, Wireless Theatre, and Audible.

13:00 - 14:30 in this workshop, you will learn the basic guest etiquette at tea gatherings, and experience how tea gatherings are traditionally hosted. A traditional cup of Matcha & sweets included. No experience needed (Chairs available), maximum 4 guests per workshop, except by private booking.

14:30 A fantastic off road route of about 10k circling the village of Brodick, Isle of Arran. Spectacular views of the mountains and Brodick Bay from footpaths, fields and forestry roads. Around 230m of climbing over the race.

An fun day out at the annual Arran dog show with fun competitions and activities for pooches and their people. Even if you are just a dog lover come along to see who is best in show.

A two-day workshop exploring outdoor mark-making, surface design and lampshade construction.

11:00 The Brook Street Band presents a narrated programme of Baroque music, storytelling and good cheer. Inspired by the kitchen as the heart of the home, the concert explores traditions of food, hospitality and conversation through music by Telemann, Handel, J. S. Bach, C. P. E. Bach, Rameau, Purcell and Errollyn Wallen. Performers: Rachel Harris and Kathryn Parry (violins), Tatty Theo (cello), Carolyn Gibley (harpsichord), with Richard Morrison as narrator.

19:30 Findlay Napier (named Composer of the Year at the 2025 MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards) and Arran-born fiddler and singer Gillian Frame (first winner of BBC Radio Scotland's Young Traditional Musician of the Year) return to AIF for a third successive year with an evening of Scottish traditional music. Ukrainian bandura player and singer Mariia Petrovska opens the evening with music from her Heart of Ukraine programme.

16:00 Afternoon performance of the same narrated Baroque programme as the morning brunch concert, featuring music by Telemann, Handel, J. S. Bach, C. P. E. Bach, Rameau, Purcell and Errollyn Wallen, with Richard Morrison narrating. Performers: Rachel Harris and Kathryn Parry (violins), Tatty Theo (cello), Carolyn Gibley (harpsichord).

13:00 - 14:30 in this workshop, you will learn the basic guest etiquette at tea gatherings, and experience how tea gatherings are traditionally hosted. A traditional cup of Matcha & sweets included. No experience needed (Chairs available), maximum 4 guests per workshop, except by private booking.

19:00 An evening of short drama and comedy sketches. Tickets at the door £5 BYOB

19:00 An evening of short drama and comedy sketches. Tickets at the door £5 BYOB

19:30 A candlelit programme of Baroque chamber music at dusk from one of the UK's leading period-instrument ensembles. The performance travels through magical, liminal spaces with Baroque chamber music by Bach, Handel, Purcell, Rebel and others. Named after the London street where Handel lived, the ensemble is known for its vivid and communicative approach to eighteenth-century chamber music.

19:00 World premiere of a new work created by Composer-in-Residence Electra Perivolaris with the children of Kilmory Primary School, developed through a creative process starting in May 2026 and shaped by the young people of the island. The children are joined by the internationally acclaimed Brook Street Band, musicians from Arran, and visiting young artists from Germany and Ukraine. Serves as prelude to The Brook Street Band's candlelit concert The Magic Hour, which follows directly afterwards.

Join us as we explore the rocky shores in Blackwaterfoot, where we'll have a guddle in the rock pools to discover the myriad of marine creatures exposed by the falling tide.

19:30 Young musicians from Arran, Rheinland-Pfalz and Ukraine perform together in a programme shaped by cultural exchange and collaboration. Features chamber works and ensemble performances developed collaboratively in the lead-up to the festival. Artists include Tabea Träger (horn), Judith Quinker (oboe), Gabin Yeom and Dylan Zöller (bassoon), Mykhailo Bilash (flute), Rebecca Hill and Aisling Coyle (clarsach), Katherine Coyle and Kitty Tudhope (Scottish smallpipes), Laura Coyle (snare drum), and Mariia Petrovska (bandura).

19:00 French trumpeter David Enhco and Swiss pianist Marc Perrenoud bring their acclaimed tribute to Chet Baker to Arran. Through jazz standards alongside original compositions, the duo explore Baker's musical world — lyricism and light shaped by fragility and darkness. Praised by Le Monde as "Jubilatory! They practise music as outlaws."

13:00 Professor Dr. Sigrid Rieuwerts of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz returns to AIF for a third year with a talk reflecting on Heimat — the meaning of home, identity and belonging, and how these ideas travel with us across borders. Prof. Rieuwerts is a leading scholar of Scottish literature and oral tradition, founder of the Scotland Hub, and has been recognised by the Royal Society of Edinburgh and through the Constance Council Prize for European Encounters and Dialogue.

19:30 Magdalena Filipczak & Agnieszka Kozło
Description: Polish violinist Magdalena Filipczak and pianist Agnieszka Kozło perform a programme bringing together classical repertoire with music rooted in Polish heritage. Features the world premiere of a new work by AIF Composer-in-Residence Electra Perivolaris, written for this collaboration. Repertoire includes Britten (Waltz from Suite Op. 6), Schubert (Fantasia in C major D. 934), Szymanowski (Peasant Dance from Harnasie, arr. Kochański) and Wieniawski (Fantasia on Themes from Gounod's Faust Op. 20)

13:30 A series of talks on various aspects of Arran, fortnightly on Tuesdays. Held in the Garden Room. No extra charge – Normal museum admission applies

Preparations for AIF2026 are underway, with new artistic plans and partnerships developing over the months ahead. We’ll share updates as the festival takes shape, and we look forward very much to welcoming you next summer.

19:30 Baritone Richard Morrison and pianist Iain Clarke (originally from Arran) perform an evening of song at the intimate Dougarie Boathouse, ranging across German Lied, English song, French mélodie, Scots song and the American Songbook on themes of love, remembrance and belonging. Includes the world premiere of a new song by Electra Perivolaris. Repertoire features Finzi (Let us garlands bring), Brahms (Vier ernste Gesänge), Ravel (Don Quichotte à Dulcinée) and Debussy (Clair de lune

Perfect for beginners and improvers. Quality Swiss tools will be used on this workshop. Your design can be one that I bring in or use one of your own. There will be an introduction covering linocutting safety, materials and tools, process printers then work on trial image followed by main image. To book please contact
seanWillisprints@gmail.com 07598541640

This workshop aimed at beginners and improvers. My workshop will use professional tools and materials
Introduction to linoprint -tools and materals-safety and myself. This is then followed by a trial piece and print then a main piece and print

14:00 Sandcastle Competition, Games, Children's Races, Grand Raffle, Music, Licensed Bar, Burgers & More! This is our main fundraiser for the village, so please do not bring your own food & drink!

10:00 - 13:00 Please come along and join in the celebrations. The courts will be free to use. As well as on court activities there will be other games and a bouncy castle. There will be teas, coffees and cake, strawberries and cream (courtesy of the Co-op) and ice cream (thanks to Arran Dairies) available. The hall is booked so if needs be we can gather indoors. Raffle tickets will be on sale (£1 a ticket) with lots of great prizes and will be drawn at 1230.

Save the dates for Arran Open Studios.

11:00 - 15:00 Travel back in time in our replica Bronze Age roundhouse! Immerse yourself in Bronze Age life in our authentic replica roundhouse! Experience how our prehistoric ancestors lived, handle artefacts and learn about Bronze Age crafts, tools and weapons. Or simply soak up the atmosphere sitting around the open fire!

Open golf tournament raising funds for the RNLI. Please contact the club for details.

A circular walk from Kildonan coast into the Eas Mor gorge and back.

14:00 - 16:00 Arran Horticultural Society Summer Show will take place in Arran High School on Wednesday 12th August 2026!

Head into the woods with the rangers and learn how to build a shelter, light a fire and make a hammock! A fun-filled afternoon in the woods where young adventurers can get hands-on with basic bushcraft skills. Participants will have the chance to construct a shelter, try their hands at fire lighting and make a hammock to get comfy in. Marshmallows are likely to feature, too!

13:30 A series of talks on various aspects of Arran, fortnightly on Tuesdays. Held in the Garden Room. No extra charge – Normal museum admission applies

19:30 The Boat in the Writing Room. Written and presented by art historian and Finlay biographer Alistair Peebles and directed by Michael Lloyd. The Boat in the Writing Room tells the story of an overlooked but transformational phase in the early career of the renowned Scottish poet, artist and landscape designer Ian Hamilton Finlay (1925-2006).

Tractor Show. Arran Heritage Museum 09 Aug 2026. Working and modern tractors gather in the museum green for this annual event and competition. Music, food, raffle and tombola

19:30 The Boat in the Writing Room: retracing the origins of Stonypath, Little Sparta is a new documentary film about the year Ian Hamilton Finlay (1925 – 2006) and his family spent at Gledfield Farmhouse, Sutherland, Scotland, 1965-66. This proved to be a transformational phase, now almost forgotten, in the early career of the Scottish poet, artist and landscape designer.

The next Arran Highland Games will be held will be on Sat 8th August 2026. The Games have been held in the village almost every year since 1886 and feature traditional heavy events alongside athletics, highland dancing, pipe bands and stalls.

14:00 Brodick Church summer fayre