Homecoming Scotland at the touch of a button

Preparations for Homecoming Scotland 2009 are now well underway and all the information you need on north-east events can be found at the touch of a button.
 

More than 116 entries, ranging from cultural and heritage fairs to folk festivals and highland games, have been uploaded to the events directory on Aberdeenshire Council’s website.

Starting with Aberdeen’s Hogmanay Street Party and Stonehaven’s Fireballs Ceremony on December 31, a year-long programme of events has been prepared for residents of the north-east and visitors to the area.

Keith Newton, Aberdeenshire Council’s lead officer for Homecoming Scotland 2009, has invited members of the public to attend as many of the events as possible and is looking forward to the 365-day celebration of all things Scottish.

“Homecoming Scotland 2009 promises to be a very exciting year for Aberdeenshire,” he said.

“There are already well over 100 homecoming events taking place throughout the north-east, details of which can be found on Aberdeenshire Council’s website.”

He added: “Homecoming Scotland will provide something for all the family and we hope visitors to Aberdeenshire throughout the year will enjoy our world-renowned hospitality.”

Homecoming Scotland 2009, which will mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, aims to motivate people of Scottish descent, as well as those who love Scotland to come home in 2009 to celebrate Scotland’s unique position as the home of Burns, golf, whisky and the Enlightenment and Innovation.

Events will be held throughout the year including Wordfringe 2009 in May. Wordfringe 2009 presents poets, fiction writers, dramatists, storytellers, comedians, translators, musicians, composers and sound artists, from North-East Scotland and beyond, in the innovative festival exploring the spoken and written word in performance.

Events will take place in venues in Aberdeen and many towns and villages throughout Aberdeenshire. 
 
The north-east Clan Fortnight from will be held from July 18 to August 3 and will showcase ancestral homelands, history and tradition and give people the opportunity to learn more about their own clan through a series of events.

To keep up-to-date with Homecoming Scotland 2009 events in your area please keep checking the Homecoming pages on Aberdeenshire Council’s website - www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/homecoming

For further information about tourism in the area, visit www.aberdeen-grampian.com