‘I’ve sailed onst with an Orkney man,
A deal o’ years ago,’ said Dan,
‘In Clay’s old packet, Kubla Khan.’
– Cicely Fox Smith
OISF in collaboration
We much enjoy collaborating with other festivals, including Orkney Aviation Festival and their organising team. Another Orkney Production, whose online events we are hosting in the new online festival world. They come up each year with fascinating topics from aviation history in Orkney and elsewhere.
Orkney has been involved in many aviation firsts, both from its own need as an island group for aviation links and from the key strategic role played in two world wars by the great anchorage of Scapa Flow. Through this collaboration we have met many interesting people and heard many memorable stories of sea and sky, including the story of HMS Hood and the commemoration of the ship and those who served on her.
Our longstanding collaboration with the Slovenian Science Foundation is very special, and we shared together its 25th anniversary in 2021.
We enjoyed an event some years ago, Stromness Spirit of the Sea, and some years ago sent some speakers to join the Sanday Soulka. We also collaborated with North Ronaldsay Community Association on a programme of midwinter activities in the island and in various other parts of Orkney as well, to highlight the potential of astronomy and dark skies for winter tourism.
Orkney Aviation Festival 2022
This year’s Aviation Festival looks back at one of the most daring pioneer flights – the first flight across the North Sea in 1914 by the Norwegian Trygve Gran.
Embers into Sparx
A spring and early summertime series of ideas and inspiration is on the way as Orkney International Science Festival warms up ahead of this year’s events in September. This
Celebrating Scapa Flow
New stories from Scapa Flow, in wartime and in peace, are highlighted in this year’s programme of events for Celebrating Scapa Flow. Each year in May, aspects of the
ORKNEY AVIATION FESTIVAL 2021
Orkney Aviation Festival this year spans past, present and future. The opening day (Thursday 9 September) reports on a new project making Kirkwall airport a testbed for new developments in aviation that can cut carbon emissions. Flights with an electric-hybrid aircraft are already under way, with more to follow, along with hydrogen-fuelled flights and island deliveries with unmanned aircraft.
Remembering HMS Hood
On May 21st it will be exactly 80 years since HMS sailed from Scapa Flow on her final voyage. Three days later she was sunk
ORKNEY AVIATION FESTIVAL 2020
Orkney Aviation Festival takes place this year online with three talks on Thursday 10 September. Orkney has played a significant role in aviation history, through two world wars and the peacetime transport needs of a scattered island group.
ORKNEY AVIATION FESTIVAL 2014
Aviation Festival for Orkney Orkney is to have an Aviation Festival. It will follow this year’s Science Festival and run from 10-14 September, highlighting the story of military
Stromness Spirit of the Sea
Stromness Spirit of the Sea is a new three-day event developed to celebrate the town’s long connection with the sea, from the great days of sail to the new horizons of wave and tidal energy.
Slovenian Science Festival success
Over 3000 students from 62 schools attended this year’s Slovenian Science Festival, to enjoy topics ranging from the frontiers of medicine to the exploration of space.
Midwinter astronomy success
Amidst wind, rain and occasion flurries of snow, there were also several fine frosty nights for 'Dark Skies Orkney'. The midwinter astronomy programme of events was coordinated
Sanday Soulka
Each weekend contains a mixture of music, walks, talks, open art and craft studios and the model railway; you’ll have an opportunity to see the island’s photo-archive, Croft Museum and Heritage Centre. The timetable of events is designed to co-ordinate the skills and enthusiasm of many island groups and individuals, and local hostelries will cater for the hungry and thirsty.
Midwinter astronomy festival for Orkney
Orkney had a midwinter astronomy festival in December 2011. Talks and stargazing took place across the mainland from Birsay to Deerness, and in Stronsay and Sanday as well.