It’s been a desperate race against time to open this year's Hebridean Celtic Festival.
Poor weather delayed the despatch of the giant blue marquee, used to stage the headline performers, after T in the Park. It was trucked north up to Ullapool in a race to catch the last ferry on Tuesday night.
Work on preparing the Castle Green site for thousands of revellers was hampered until it arrived and, with no time to waste, a bunch of volunteers worked hard into the night to erect the huge tent.
The staging and interior structures are hurriedly being installed with high-
It should be ready to host Seth Lakeman, widely regarded as the UK’s foremost folk singer songwriter, as the main act tomorrow.
Festival spokesman Peter Kane said: “It was rush to get the tent up in time but we managed to get it on the last ferry and now we are back on schedule.”
He added: “Ticket sales are doing very well and we expect the usual last minute surge but we‘re very happy at how its going.”
KT Tunstall is a big draw for the crowds for the Saturday night while the Peatbog
Faeries, Stornoway and Eddi Reader are also in the line-
It is hoped the sunshine will last for hundreds of visitors to enjoy town centre entertainment in Stornoway with circus skills workshops, music tuition, colourful street art display and outdoor and pub music sessions.
The festival commands an audience of 17,000 over the four day event and injects about £1.5 million into the local economy.
Volunteer effort to open Heb Celt Festival 14/7/11