PORTSOY SCOTTISH TRADITIONAL BOAT FESTIVAL RETURNS THIS SUMMER

Portsoy Scottish Traditional Boat Festival returns this summer on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 June, promising a packed weekend of heritage, music, food and family entertainment. Around 13,000 visitors are expected to attend the two-day event, where an impressive collection of traditional boats, lifeboats and fishing vessels will be on display. Among the highlights are the 19th-century Fifie herring drifter, Reaper, travelling from the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther, Fife, and festival favourite Isabella Fortuna, sailing from Wick in Caithness.

Visitors can also explore handcrafted wooden creations made by students from the Portsoy Boatshed, enjoy live music and dance performances, and browse a wide range of handmade gifts, crafts and Scottish produce.

The popular Food and Drink Zone will showcase some of the finest Scottish flavours, including fresh fish and seafood, homemade pies, and locally produced whisky, gin and rum.

New for this year is a cookery demonstration area sponsored by Hamlyns of Scotland Oatmeal. Local chefs and food producers will prepare a variety of dishes, while Stewart Buchanan, global brand ambassador for Glenglassaugh Distillery, will host guided whisky tastings. Tayport Distillery will also offer a summer cocktail-making session.

Festivalgoers can enjoy a variety of catering options around the harbour, with menus featuring freshly caught seafood, Aberdeen Angus beef, paella, pizza and German sausages, catering for a range of tastes and dietary requirements.

The Coastal Crafts Zone will feature traditional craft demonstrations alongside handmade ceramics, jewellery, prints and paintings inspired by Scotland’s stunning coastline.

Families will find plenty to enjoy in the Back Green Kids’ Zone, with attractions including bouncy castles, giant slides, trampolines, Segways and the Tam O’Shunter land train running throughout the weekend. Jamie the Jester and the Balloon Mannies will also entertain younger visitors, while Banff and Macduff Libraries will host coding activities, Bookbug sessions and a reading chill-out area.

A packed music programme organised by Folk at the Salmon Bothy will bring a range of performers to the festival stage. Returning favourites Fair Trickit will perform across both days, alongside Cullen-based ukulele twins Charlotte and Chloe Hay, singer-songwriter Mike Blackburn, Portsoy entertainer Bill Gray, folk group Farran and Munlochy band The Cavemen with their mix of rock and folk classics.

Visitors can also enjoy performances from Tripple, the acclaimed a cappella trio made up of Jill, Cit and Annie, known for their contemporary arrangements of traditional songs and rich harmonies.

Another festival favourite, Scotland’s first competitive skipping club Skip 2 the Beat, will return with their energetic stunt performances, while the Anne McArthur Dancers — who have appeared at almost every festival since it began — will once again take to the stage.

Images: Scottish Fisheries Museum