Shetland Accordion & Fiddle Festival, & Shetland Food Festival

Visiting Shetland is unlike visiting any other part of Scotland. An island or chain of islands actually, that is home to a strong and deeply ingrained sense of culture, history and community. Steeped in thousands of years of history, the beautiful and often dramatic landscapes of Shetland have inspired and nurtured the islands' rich musical heritage and created the right environment to produce exceptional natural ingredients.

Shetland Accordion & Fiddle Festival: 8 - 12 OCTOBER 2009

Shetland Food Festival: 2 - 11 OCTOBER 2009

This autumn, celebrate these two pillars of Shetland life by visiting the islands and taking part in the festivities.  Kicking off on 8 October until 12 October, this year is the 22nd annual Shetland Accordion & Fiddle Festival and sees the islands' two most popular instruments take pride of place in the programme. Musicians from all over the world are set to visit Scotland's most northerly settlements to perform this year, including Craigowl and Ian Hutson from the Scottish Dance Band and the Lomond Ceilidh Band to name but a few.

Focussing on traditional and dance music, expect a mix of Celtic influences, as traditional Irish music is common place, but at such an international event as this, you will undoubtedly hear some significant American, Norse and Scandinavian roots too.

Closing the celebrations with the annual 'grand dance', with over 1, 000 participants each year, this is the ultimate highlight of the week's fun, as almost every band from throughout the entire festival take to the stage at one point in the evening to add a tune or two to the dance. Expect to finish exhausted, elated and no doubt with one or two new friends.

Make the most of your journey to these beautiful islands by savouring some of the local delicacies too. From the 2 - 11 October 2009, the Shetland Food Festival will showcase the islands' produce and history of food, with the seas, crops and livestock around the islands famed for exceptionally good quality produce. With people having lived on Shetland for around 5,000 years, the heritage of food and farming on the islands has changed significantly, so the festival looks at what part the landscape has played in Shetland's culinary development.

With celebrity chefs demonstrating dishes you can make at home, farmers markets and local producers offering samples for tasting, not to mention significant events and displays from the UK's most northerly brewery, get your ticket and head north this autumn.

To find out more about Shetland visit Shetland's Official website.