Top Scottish Virtual Events

North Berwick Highland Games

This year our great events and festivals are conquering the online world to bring to you the best virtual and digital events, so you don’t have to miss out.

Throughout the year Scotland’s cities, towns and villages host eclectic and welcoming events of all genres, interests and themes that everyone can get involved in and enjoy. From adrenaline pumping sporting events, and captivating storytelling pop-ups, to toe-tapping music festivals, and educational talks and workshops, there’s plenty to explore.

Here are just some we know you’ll love, but keep checking back for more additions.

Arts & Culture

• Watch mesmerising performances by Scottish Ballet, or join in a live fitness dance class with them on Facebook, Monday to Friday, at 11:30am.
• Gather around the virtual ‘campfire’ with Marjolein Robertson, a comedian, storyteller and Edinburgh Festival veteran. Join her on Monday, Thursday and Friday evenings as she live streams Shetland folktales and shares hilarious stories about her experiences performing.
• Join in with the Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s online series featuring poetry, storytelling, music and children’s workshops.
• You don’t have to miss out on exciting theatre performances while at home. The National Theatre of Scotland is bringing you spectacular events and online workshops to explore and get involved in:
  – Scenes for Survival – a new season of over 40 digital artworks created in response to the current Covid-19 outbreak.
• LGBTI+ Elders Social Dance Club– Dust off your dancing shoes, charge your glasses and get ready for ONLINE DANCE CLUB! We might not be able to meet in person but we can use the magic of technology to connect, chat and boogie.
• Wigtown Book Festival – This event is every book enthusiast’s dream, with hundreds of like-minded people, as well as authors, poets, literary geniuses and more. Delve into the captivating online festival which will cover two main themes Resilience and Connection. As well as live online speaker events, the 2020 festival will feature its usual mix of art exhibitions, film events, music and performance.
• The Tartan Noir Show – get sucked into the world of crime writing with Theresa Talbot in these gripping and intense weekly podcasts. Exploring the very best of the genre, the podcasts will feature some incredible works from a variety of renowned names, such as Val McDermid, Denise Mina, Ian Rankin and many more.
• Doors Open Days – Join in with Scotland’s biggest free festival of architecture which will be bring a whole host of tours, lectures, DIY learning events and more.
• Tune in to the digital concert of Nicola Benedetti performing Bruch’s Violin Concerto with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra recorded at Perth Concert Hall. Head over to their YouTube Channel, or Facebook, to watch.
• Bloody Scotland – Scotland’s crime writing festival is back and is bringing to you an online programme of various events, including their biggest ever panel of 27 authors across 5 continents.
• Scottish International Storytelling Festival – 17 – 31 October. The Scottish International Storytelling Festival is keeping audiences ‘In the Flow’ with an eclectic mix of online events spanning across the globe and small scale face-to-face events, celebrating Scotland ‘a nation shaped by water’, taking you on voyages at home and away.
• Galoshans Festival – 5 – 31 October. Join Inverclyde’s unique festival of performance, creativity and community which will bring Hallowe’en home to you. Enjoy an exciting programme of online and physically distanced arts activities taking place, with the special theme of the Year of Coasts and Waters to celebrating the waters around Greenock and Scotland.
• StAnza – 6-14 March 2021. A hybrid festival, largely digital, with a few live exhibitions and socially distanced outdoor events. The festival will include readings, round table events, interactive poetry installations and more to celebrate Scotland’s magnificent culture and artistic talent.

Highland games

• Braemar Highland Games–  Join in with an online extravaganza that will see pipe bands, traditional events, Highland dancing, races and more. Although we can’t be there to cheer on the competitors in person, this virtual event will be energetic it will make you feel like you’re amidst all the action.

History

• The Real Paranormal Investigation – 13 November 2020. Halloween may be over but that shouldn’t stop you from uncovering more of the Capital’s spooky secrets. For one night only, The Real Mary King’s Close have teamed up with Scottish Paranormal to broadcast its first interactive paranormal investigation on Friday 13 November right in the comfort of your very own home. Having investigated claims of all unearthly occurrences across Scotland for the past 15 years, the team at Scottish Paranormal will carry out a series of experiments in rooms of The Close where paranormal activity has been previously reported. With the use of scientific tools and the talented guides of the attraction’s unique storytelling of Edinburgh’s 17^th century streets, it is certainly an evening you don’t want to miss out.

Music

• Tune in to YouTube and witness the musical mastery of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra as its members perform in isolation with home videos and live streams to watch whenever you like.
• Blas 2020 – 20-30 November. Stay tuned for 11 days of concerts, workshops, lectures and more that will celebrate the music, songs, language and culture of the Highlands.
• Frontline Festival Scotland – 30 November. You’re all invited to this new virtual gig that will see performances from over 30 Scottish artists streamed across social media on the patriotic St Andrew’s Day. Join in the tunes and have your very own shindig at home.
• Celtic Connections – 15 January – 2 February 2021. An annual favourite in the Scottish events calendar, Celtic Connections is back for 2021 and is set to take on the online world. Top quality performances and concerts will be able to view every night across the 19 days, featuring some of the biggest names in the Scottish music scene.
• Seall Festival of Small Halls – 26 – 28 November 2020. Get ready to dance around the living room! With the event being live-streamed from the Isle of Skye between the 26 and 28 November, the festival will be sure to bring music to everyone’s ears. This year, nine musicians are set to perform in two 45-minute sets before taking to the stage again for the grand finale, the Big Ceilidh.

Food & Drink

• Taste of Shetland – Tune in to learn how some of Shetland’s leading producers make their products and dishes, enjoy live cooking demonstrations, hear culinary discussion and take part in food-related quizzes and other entertainment.
• Scotch Whisky & Scottish Chocolate Pairing: Online Tasting Experience – 4 December. Join in the fun with Scotland’s leading whisky expert, Charles Maclean, and World Class Master Chocolatier, Iain Burnett, for an exclusive online tasting where you can unveil the delicately balanced tastes and textures of single malts, combined with rich, gourmet chocolate.

Film & TV

• Glasgow Film Festival – 24 February – 7 March 2021. An annual Scottish favourite, the Glasgow Film Festival is back in 2021 with a wide-ranging programme that celebrates every corner of world cinema and provides a fantastic showcase for the best of Scottish film. Stay tuned for the full programme release in December.

If you fancy getting into the great outdoors to explore some of Scotland’s stunning scenery and learn about how the land has been shaped by the elements over the millennia, why not get involved in the Scottish Geology Festival?

Explore more virtual and live streaming events of all genres and topics to keep you busy with The List.