Silver City Stories Festival will bring Aberdeen’s History and Heritage to life

05 June 2017

To celebrate the Scottish Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology Aberdeen City Council launched a number of events which will form the programme of Silver City Stories - a one-off cultural festival due to take place in Aberdeen over three days this month.

Drawing on Aberdeen’s rich history, this series of free events celebrates the city’s heritage through a variety of art forms and activities from Friday 30 June to Sunday 2 July.

Highlights include a pop-up opera inspired by the Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1597, a medieval mystery fair, a series of performances and workshops celebrating the North-east’s storytelling traditions and a weekend of immersive children’s activities. A full programme is available at www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/silvercitystories.

There will also be an open-top bus tour from First Aberdeen which will journey around the city and beach taking in the Silver City Stories event sites. The hour long tour will leave from Shiprow at 11am, 1pm and 3pm.

The Lord Provost of Aberdeen Barney Crockett said: “Aberdeen is full of fascinating tales and colourful characters and it is really encouraging to see such an interest in the revival of storytelling, which is one of our region’s great cultural traditions.

“This new event is one of the ways we are building the cultural narrative of Aberdeen. By bringing together organisations from across the city and beyond, we are continuing to develop a collaborative approach to culture in the city.”

Confirmed partners include Sound Festival, Aberdeen Performing Arts, Quid’s In Theatre, Peacock Visual Arts, Scottish Culture and Tradition, First Group Heritage Trust, ACT Aberdeen and Aberdeen Science Centre.

Aberdeen City Council has also confirmed a number of community-based events which will run from Monday 26 June to Sunday 2 July as part of a Silver City Stories fringe festival. These include: a Don-side theatre production telling the story of the River Don through the ages; children’s story telling workshops; an exhibition featuring submission from Aberdeen school pupils on ‘My favorite building in Aberdeen’ and the story of women transported from Aberdeen for petty crimes.