Festival of Museums set for nationwide celebration of Scotland’s culture in May 2011

Music, storytelling and period fashion among highlights of new festival

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A brand new festival for Scotland is planned for 13 to 15 May 2011. The inaugural Festival of Museums will see a jam-packed programme of more than 75 day and evening events taking place in museums and galleries across Scotland.

Buchanan Street in Glasgow was the setting for an impromptu flash mob breakdance performance to mark the programme launch of a brand new festival for Scotland. The inaugural Festival of Museums will see a jam-packed programme of events taking place in museums and galleries across Scotland from the 13 to 15 May 2011.

Going to the Dancing: Breakdancing Dunbar! – a celebration of 80's style, music and fashion – is one of over 75 day and evening events being staged as part of the new festival that celebrates Scotland’s living culture. The flash mob performance was also inspired by events taking place at the Scottish Maritime Museum and the Museum of Edinburgh.

From the Groam House Museum in Ross-shire and Portsoy Bothy in Banffshire, to the Annan Museum in Dumfries and Galloway, Festival of Museums features an eclectic and colourful range of concerts, talks, workshops, performances and exhibitions taking place right across the country. Many of the events are free, and those paid for are all under £8.

There will be something for all ages to enjoy, so no matter what your interests - period fashion, science, food, Jacobean history or even Neolithic art - there will be an event, day or night, taking place. Full details of this year’s programme are available on www.festivalofmuseums.com and highlights from the jam-packed programme include:

The Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) in Glasgow, where visitors Up to Mischief will enjoy an interactive performance by artist Anthony Schrag before popping outside for a large scale games of dominoes and pick-up sticks in Royal Exchange Square. The city’s People’s Palace and Winter Gardens will be the setting for A Grand Day Out – a Celebration of Glasgow’s Exhibitions, with suffragette Mrs Donald on hand to rabble-rouse and disrupt proceedings. And in Edinburgh’s City Art Centre, it promises to be Raining Hats and Dogs as headwear and man’s best friend are celebrated. Nearby, before afternoon tea is served, the hottest fashions of the 16th century will be modelled at Trinity Apse, Edinburgh.

Elsewhere, at Kilmartin House Museum in Argyll, Sounding the Stones will see participants delve into history as through music and storytelling they learn about over 4,000 years of life in Kilmartin Glen – and even learn to make their own instruments! And on the other side of the country, at Kirkcaldy Museum in Fife, The Jacobites Come to Kirkcaldy with the chance to meet Bonnie Prince Charlie while fashionistas peruse glamorous vintage clothing and accessories from the era.