Lunches & Evenings 2026
The Peedie Kirk lunches of Orkney fare are not to be missed! On five days of the festival they have a spread of soup, open sandwiches, cakes and tea/coffee, with so many different items to choose from. Each day there is the One O’Clock Toast to a well-known Orcadian, and this year’s subjects are varied, from Stromness to South Ronaldsay, and from Papay and Orphir as well.
And despite the rise in the cost of living, the kindness of local suppliers has helped the Peedie Kirk to keep the lunch prices at the same level as last year.
The Orkney Club is another atmospheric venue, with a fine range of evening events, with music from synthesizers and smallpipes, songs from Shetland and the Mearns, a Slovenian wine evening and a Highland Park insight into the peat that dries its malt.
The synthesizer trio QRM are back with a set of live electronic instrumental pieces on the theme of the deep ocean. You will be treated to music inspired by everything from early life in the oceans to current day marine research, and everything in between, played on a variety of replica vintage and modern electronic instruments. The performance is once again accompanied by a video created by visual artist and composer Hilary de Vries. At the end there will be time to ask questions and have a look at the kit that the group use.
Meet friends old or new and enjoy the best of Orkney cheese, meat, fish and baking. Come in good time for the best choice of food and for the Toast. Today's One O’Clock Toast is to Dr Jean McPhail, later Cursiter, doctor in Papa Westray for nearly 25 years. It is given by Andrea Massey of the Orkney Women Doctors Research Group.
When an old language fades away from daily life, fragments can still survive in song. Musician Barry Nisbet from Cullivoe in Yell gives some examples and describes how he is making them available for today's generation.
Meet friends old or new and enjoy the best of Orkney cheese, meat, fish and baking. Come in good time for the best choice of food and for the Toast. The One O’Clock Toast today is to Alex T. Annal, farmer, campaigner and Orkney Islands Councillor for Burray and South Ronaldsay, who had a great
The Lindsay System began with a question: could the familiar range of the Scottish smallpipe chanter be extended without adding keys or losing the character of the traditional instrument? Donald WG Lindsay traces the development of the system through twenty years of experiment, invention and musical practice. Then comes a concert set played on the resulting extended-range smallpipes, revealing the musical possibilities that emerged from the design.
After the concert, Twa Folk (Irene Watt and Graham White) welcome you with music and song from the North-East of Scotland. They welcome too some of the visiting musicians and singers who are in Orkney for the festival.
Meet friends old or new and enjoy the best of Orkney cheese, meat, fish and baking. Come in good time for the best choice of food and for the Toast. The One O’Clock Toast today is to Jackie Brown, who made the Bankhouse in Stromness part of the heart of the community. It is given by his daughter Ingirid Morrison.
Meet friends old or new and enjoy the best of Orkney cheese, meat, fish and baking. Come in good time for the best choice of food and for the Toast. The One O’Clock Toast today is to Prof. Lord Colin Renfrew, excavator of Quanterness and the greatest archaeologist of his time. It is given by Prof. Mark Edmonds.
We've thirty years of friendship with the Slovenian Science Foundation to celebrate, and they've arranged for Damir Kapitanovic from the Klet Brda vineyards to make a first visit to Orkney with some of their wines from their growers for Festival-goers to taste. We will be joined online by Andraž Ivšek and Peter Volasko, who will reflect on the long tradition of Slovenian winemaking, with a toast or two as well.
Meet friends old or new and enjoy the best of Orkney cheese, meat, fish and baking. Come in good time for the best choice of food and for the Toast. The One O’Clock Toast today is to the Arctic explorer Dr John Rae. It is given by his great-great-grandniece, Jane Hamilton from Hamilton, Ontario.
Highland Park Distillery’s peatland at Hobbister is the subject of a research project being carried out by UHI. The aim is to develop a better understanding of the peat in the whisky-making process, as a means to finding ways to reduce usage and to develop methods of restoration. Distillery manager Marie Gulliver describes the progress of the work.
