illumination : Harbour Festival of Light
When: 30th November – 3rd December 2017
Where: Irvine, Scotland
£: Ticket prices depend on the event. Many events are free
What is it?
Illumination, Irvine harbour’s festival of light, will take place from Thursday 30th November to Sunday 3rd December.
Irvine’s historic waterfront will twinkle with lights this St Andrew’s Day, as the Scottish Maritime Museum’s four day Winter spectacular returns, with giant kaleidoscopic seaweed, whisky tasting aboard a boat, musical interactive sculptures, skiff racing, illuminated stunt bikes and aerial acrobatics.
The event will begin with a free firework display over the harbour, designed to celebrate the country’s history, culture and heritage with people both at home and abroad.
An aerial spectacular
A Light Trail will also light up each evening until 10pm, with an interactive light sculptures by light artists Squidsoup and three metre high models of the world’s largest equine sculptures; Andy Scott’s shimmering steel Kelpies. Squidsoup’s On the Tide interactive light installation will see sparkling kelp snake out from the Harbourside to the River Irvine.
Visitors will also be able to see brightly lit historic vessels including the small Tall Ship La Malouine, illuminated buildings and maritime engineering, and the Scottish Maritime Museum’s George Wyllie inspired paper boat, which will twinkle along the waterfront.
This year there will be a Light, Fire and Aerial Art Spectacular at the Scottish Maritime Museum, which will feature a fire show in front of the Linthouse, historic vessel SY Carola and puffer Spartan lit up, light installations, a Vintage Bus Bar, and the story of shipbuilding projected across the façade. Inside the glass-roofed ‘cathedral of engineering’, suspended from the girders, Spinal Chord will perform aerial acrobatics on rope silks and trapeze high above beautiful boats and relics of maritime engineering.
illumination performances
On the Friday, visitors will be able to watch Scotland’s cycle stunt team, The Clan, perform challenges on towering platforms for illumiBike.
Scottish Coastal Rowing Association members will bring their sparkling skiffs to illumination, racing them on the Saturday afternoon, then taking a gentler pace by glittering on the water at night. Also on the Saturday evening will be a Lantern Parade, featuring community-made lanterns.
During the festival, Murray McDavid will lead whisky tastings and entertainment aboard a 1960s cutter boat with ‘Whisky Bard’ Robin Laing. Finally, on Sunday 3rd December, the event will close with a second free firework display from 8.15pm.
More info: illuminationfestival.co.uk