Food and drink

The Gathering is Scotland’s largest event for charities, social enterprises and voluntary organisations. It’s free and everyone’s welcome.

Organised every year by SCVO, it’s a place for people working in the third sector to network, showcase what they do and learn from each other. It’s also a great opportunity for anyone who is interested in finding out more about the third sector to come along and get involved. There’s a bustling exhibition and marketplace with over 100 exhibitors, and a packed programme featuring more than 60 workshops, seminars and training sessions.

Now in it's fifth year, the Festival has something for everyone interested in smallholding in Scotland. With shows of sheep, goats, pigs and poultry and waterfowl and cattle breed societies, and with a focus on rare and traditional breeds, it's a great place to meet breeders and make connections. There's also trade stands and craft exhibitors; a Garden, Craft and Food competition; rural skills demonstrations and a programme of fifteen talks to inform, inspire and educate.

Featuring six sessions delivered by experts in their field, it's a great opportunity to meet like-minded people, learn something new and enjoy a bit of smallholder chat and socialising before the days get longer and outdoor tasks start to take priority.

Tickets only available online at £25 each, includes lunch, refreshments and delegate pack.

This year's SACCAP Potato Conference runs under the theme the new six Ps: Promote Potatoes with Passion and Produce Potatoes to Perfection.

As usual the event will tackle the most relevant topics facing potato producers today with Scotland’s top experts presenting on a range of areas with a focus on how to promote potatoes to consumers as they face ever expanding choices on the supermarket shelves.

The event will also see the presentation of the prize to the SRUC Elmwood student who has invented the most innovative recipe for potatoes.

For their 2016 conference, SAOS are continuing with the format of two morning forum workshops. They expect this year’s topics to prove popular as SAOS’ Jim Booth will be joined by Angela Tregear and Sarah Cooper of Edinburgh University Business School to discuss the results of a study of four marketing co-ops and the role co-ops play in supporting KT/learning amongst their members. The other forum, hosted by their next generation team members, with guest speakers, examines why we sometimes criticise, rather than celebrate, business expansion and success, assuming “they just got lucky”.

A two day Festival over the weekend of the 16th to 17th April 2016.

Venues include the local village halls, Nevis Range ski centre, local restaurants and the village primary school.

Nowadays, with a wide variety of food available all year round, we have no problem sourcing our winter provisions but our ancient ancestors did not have that luxury. They had to devise ways of storing their food for the long winter ahead of them.

Join us for a celebration of seasonal fare including tasters of fungi, hazelnuts, soups and stews representing the kind of foods the loch-dwellers would have eaten at this time of year.

Booking essential for large groups only.

Call 01887 830853 or email info@crannog.co.uk.

Another of the four traditional Celtic Festivals, ‘Lughnasa’ has many possible origins but is most often associated with the sun god Lugh. The date of 1st August is linked to the ancient Celtic calendar tablet found at Coligny in France.