Kingussie festival: the 'word' is success!
Kingussie's three-day celebration of thought and word, written and spoken, past and present, proved an outstanding success.
From the launch of Thursday to Saturday's big finish, it was clear that there is great support for the notion of fixing a literary date in the calendar of Badenoch's capital.
The first event of its kind, with gigs at various venues around the town, focused on the spoken word performance and poetry on a theme of "Immigration & Emigration".
It included a range of speakers, performance and workshops from the worlds of beat poetry and jazz.
"The festival of words went stunningly well," said one of the three organisers, Claire Candy.
"We couldn’t be happier with the enthusiasm from participants and audience alike.
"Attendances were excellent with great engagement at every event, whether it was paid or free.
"We can’t wait to start working on next year's programme."
She confirmed: "We also intend to set up a regular performance poetry group, to complement the festival."
This year's launch was notable also for Chris Shute's wonderful Meccano poets. There were three machines dotted around the town which demonstrated that poetry was for all – including our metal friends.
The Strathy, though, will let him explain how it actually works!
