What’s On This Weekend: Makers, music, and dachshunds

A look at what’s on this weekend around Scotland, with Peter Ranscombe.

NEARLY 100 artists throughout Dumfries and Galloway are throwing open the doors to their studios this weekend for Spring Fling.

Sixteen of the artists and makers have never taken part before, including slipware potter Mary Gladstone of Craighlaw, Kirkcowan, Newton Stewart, whose pieces are decorated with contemporary images inspired by Galloway wildlife.

Also new to Spring Fling is Gyllian Thomson, of Corstorphine Road, Thornhill, who creates tapestries using cotton, wool, linen, and acrylic on her upright scaffold loom.

Silvy Weatherall – who specialises in creating art from items that have been used, forgotten or thrown away – will be welcoming visitors into her new studio at Mallabay Steadings, Irongray.

Dachshunds descend on the Borders

Thirlestane Castle near Lauder will host a Dachshund Fun Day on Sunday.

Gates open at 11am, with a walk, a racing and agility demonstration, a parade, and a show.

There’s also a fancy dress competition for the dogs.

Entry to the fund day is £5 per dog – accompanying humans go free.

Haal rolls back into Portsoy

The 12th Haal, Folk at the Salmon Bothy’s annual festival in Portsoy, kicks off this afternoon and runs until Sunday.

As well as music, there’ll be poetry, storytelling, and workshops at venues throughout the town.

Amy Papiransky, from Keith, will open the main festival concert tomorrow night.

Papiransky has supported KT Tunstall and signed to her record label.

Outdoor opera begins summer tour

Scottish Opera’s “pop-up opera” summer tour begins today at Glamis Castle.

This summer’s outdoor programme consists of “A Little Bit of Barber” and “A Little Bit of Figaro”, along with “Be A Sport, Spike!”, created for four to eight year olds by Karen MacIver and Ross Stenhouse.

Locations on this summer’s tour include Mugdock Country Park, North Bragar on the Isle of Lewis, Perth Concert Hall, and Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life.

Last summer’s pop-up opera roadshow featured 197 performances, which attracted an audience of more than 11,000 people.

The tour is in addition to the afternoon performances mentioned in last week’s column.

Stripped back weekend at Dundee Rep

Dundee Rep’s festival of new work, Rep Stripped, continues until tomorrow.

Some of the performances are taking place on the stage, while others are spread throughout the building.

Artistic director Andrew Panton said: “Rep Stripped is a hugely important part of our work here at the Rep – by supporting emergent talent to develop, we nurture the creative ecology to ensure future generations of theatre-makers have a platform.

“We’ll be inviting audiences to feedback to the artists and we’re excited about this direct input audiences will have into our future work.”

Laurel and Hardie return to the Lyceum

Tom McGrath’s play, Laurel & Hardie, returns to the Lyceum in Edinburgh tonight – 17 years after staging its world premier at the theatre.

Steven McNicoll and Barnaby Power are reprising their roles.

The actors are now at the ages as Stan and Ollie towards the end of their careers.

Directed by Tony Cownie, the play runs until 25 June.

Last chance to see…

Sunday marks the final day of the joint exhibition by Kittie Jones and Wynona Legg at the Scottish Ornithologists’ Club’s gallery in Aberlady, East Lothian.

Both artists will be at the gallery on Sunday to chat informally with visitors, share their sketchbooks, and talk about their working practices.

Most of their works are produced outside.

Two exhibitions begin at the gallery on Wednesday – “Nature, Prints, & Poetry” and “Birds, Botany, and John Clare”.

Read more stories on Scottish Field’s news pages.