Festival action for Perthshire museums

May 10 2011 by Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

PERTHSHIRE museums are supporting a new festival for Scotland this Friday to Sunday.

The inaugural Festival of Museums has a programme of 75 events taking place day and night across the country, with two venues in Perthshire featuring.

The festival is spearheaded by Museums Galleries Scotland, working side by side with Culture24’s Museums at Night and the Europe-wide celebration, La Nuit des Musées, to feature an eclectic and colourful range of concerts, talks, workshops, performances and exhibitions, and many of the events are free.

Highlights from the Festival of Museums Perthshire programme include re-enactments, exclusive tours and untold secrets at The Black Watch Castle and Museum at Balhousie Castle in Perth and a celebration of Donald McBeath, a favourite of Queen Victoria, at Atholl Country Life Museum, Blair Atholl.

Kirsty Cohen, Atholl Country Life Museum, said: “I would encourage everyone to put this weekend in their diaries and visit as many of the events as possible. There is an amazing, diverse mix of events taking place right across the country and it’s inspiring to see Perthshire’s museums working together.”

Full details of this year’s programme are available on www.festivalofmuseums.com

Events at The Black Watch Castle and Museum in Hay Street, Perth, are:

Battles of the Black Watch: three free shows on Saturday at 11am, 1pm and 3pm bringing history brought to life with re-enactments will be based around the history of The Black Watch Regiment. There will be a working, living history camp set up in the museum.

Captivating Collections: On Friday from 7pm-9pm there is a chance to find out the secrets of The Black Watch Castle and Museum with an exclusive tour of the museum. Advance booking is required – telephone 01738 638152.

Behind the Scenes: Tours of the museum stores on Saturday at 11am and 2pm. Advance booking is required – telephone 01738 638152.

The free event at the Atholl Country Life Museum is titled ‘Atholl’s Unsung Hero’, giving visitors the chance to celebrate and learn about the amazing life of Donald McBeath, a true man of the hills whose abilities opened the door to many different experiences.

He is known as the father of the Atholl Highlanders and lead a life so fascinating, it is still being celebrated 100 years after his death. McBeath was a dedicated game keeper for 50 years, and he was also admired by Queen Victoria for his heroic efforts in battle.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to view the newly built state-of-the-art artefact storage

And on Saturday at 2pm at the Museum will launch the Abertay Historical Society’s new book Ten Taysiders, of which Donald McBeath is one of the 10.

Atholl’s Unsung Hero is open Friday-Sunday 1pm-5pm – see the website www.highlandandperthshire.com