BIG Tent ‘09 doesn’t just get your feet tapping ... it also stimulates your mind.

 

The Head Zone takes you away from the buzz and bustle of the main site and into the orchard.

And it’s here you can listen to, and debate with, a fabulous range of speakers who are passionate about their chosen subjects and encouraging us to change. They’ll inspire and challenge you at a time when we need, more than ever, to look again at how we live.

 

Big Tent’s Earth Action Talks series comes at a time when our political, financial and ecological systems are in crisis. This weekend isn’t just a once -in-a-lifetime chance to make change ... it’s a once-in-a-species opportunity to debate and discuss, and to reflect and respond.

It isn’t all talk either.

 

From one debate at Big Tent two years sprang the award-winning, and growingly influential Fife Diet. It started with 14 people signing up. Today over 1000 are committed to it.

 

Thanks to the support of WWF Scotland, Big Tent ‘09 will feature two lunchtime lectures with keynote speakers, while our range of authors and experts will provide a wide-ranging brief for discussion.

And if words are your passion, make sure you visit the Poetry Tent, which you will also find within the orchard. It is hosted by Lapidus Scotland – a creative community of writers who use the literary arts for healing – and takes as its themes for ‘09 freedom and belonging.  All talks are free and on a first come, first served basis.

THE BEAUTY of Big Tent is that it provides a glorious retreat from everyday life, if only for a few days.

The wonderful surroundings of Falkland Palace provide the perfect place to get away from it all and to recharge your batteries.

 

Our lives are filled to bursting, and juggling work, family, friends and children can often leave you no time for yourself. So why not indulge for a while and take a trip to our fantastic Body & Soul Zone.

Situated in the beautiful surroundings of the Palace Orchard, you can check out the myriad of different complementary approaches to health and wellbeing.

 

There are a huge array of therapies, remedies and classes to soothe your frenzied existence.

And you might even find something which will change the way you look at life.  From Reiki to Tai-Chi, Indian head massage to crystal therapy; in this wonderful zone, you will be able to indulge your frazzled senses.

 

Perhaps you could take a few hours and learn about the huge and varied world of alternative therapies.

Or why not take a restorative Herbal Walk in the Woods?  In this zone, we’re offering you the chance to enjoy yoga, or take a class on non-violent communication.

 

Over the weekend, the practitioners will share with you traditional and modern personal development tools, as well as techniques which cultivate connection of body, mind and soul. 

 

Make time for yourself away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the festival, and enjoy the Body & Soul Zone to the full.

IF YOU are looking for the very best in crafts, handmade goods and environmental products and services look no further than the Market Zone.

 

Visitors will be able to meet producers and makers first hand and have a closer look at their environmentally-friendly products. Many local groups and businesses will feature as well as those from further afield. Whether it’s silver and wooden jewellery, leather goods, feltwork, craftwork, vintage clothing, wooden furniture, soft furnishings, creams and lotions, childrens’ books or wooden-framed mirrors, there is bound to be something in the Market Zone to cater for every taste.

SINCE The Big Tent’s conception, music has been as important as the message of Big Tent itself - or rather, it has been intertwined with the message.

 

Each year, this small festival has offered some massive acts, all mixed into a huge melting pot of folk, world, indie, jazz classical and fusion music, played across two live stages -  The Big Hullabaloo and The Wee Shindig. Musicians literally come from all corners of the globe, and this year is no different.

 

We have people coming from Cuba. But we also have people coming from Dundee, and that’s part of what the music at Big Tent is all about - diversity. From Attic Lights, one of Scotland’s best up-and-coming bands on the indie scene at the moment, to The Creole Choir of Cuba, an exciting and eclectic group of Cubans who are taking their message around the world, there is literally something for everyone.

And that doesn’t mean that ‘something’ is spread thin on the ground either.

 

The good thing about Big Tent is if you come to see Shooglenifty, you’ll hopefully have the chance to see a handful of others. And if you love them, you’ll go away with something new and exciting on your playlist.

Mostly, however, you’ll go away with new music that can influence the way you think about the world.

 

The artists and bands playing at this year’s Big Tent, and more importantly their music, will carry Big Tent’s message to their audiences, who will carry the message outside of the festival gates.

Music can influence a lot of things, and while Big Tent may not be Live Aid, it’s often the grassroots ideas that can have the biggest influence. So tap your toes, dance like you mean it, sing along or simply kick-back, lay down a rug and bask in the music of brilliant, unique and talented artists hand picked for the Big Tent this year.

 

 

A bit about your host ...

ALWAYS a lover of everything big, be it tents or music, Phil Kay is back this year to provide pleasantries and pep to an eager Big Tent audience. Local boy turned national comedian, Phil is all set to get the crowd going, keep the crowd going and tell them where the loos are in between some of the impressive acts lined up for this year’s musical extravaganza.

 

After last year’s ‘KidsTaketheStage’ experiment, which saw Phil’s attempt to delay headliners backfire when the children involved covered him in grass and hay, this year’s festival may see him with something slightly different up his sleeve.

 

Bursting with energy and madness in equal measure, Big Tent just wouldn’t be the same without Phil at the helm ...

LET’S face it - the best thing about Big Tent is always the sheer variety of mouthwatering local foods on offer, and this year is no different.

The One Planet Food Village aims to promote the very best of Scottish produce with an emphasis on the local, seasonal and organic foods.

Organised by renowned chef Christopher Trotter, a veteran of some of finest Michelin starred restaurants across Europe, and absolutely jam packed full with the delicious produce of some of Fife and the surrounding area’s most innovative growers, farmers, producers and restauranteurs, the One Planet Food Village offers something for every palate.

Meat lovers can marvel at the juiciness of the organic steaks, ribs and venison on offer, as well as enjoy a spit roast with a side of beef raised on the Falkland Estate Farm.

If you are not so inclined, perhaps the offer of vegetarian alternatives from Falkland cafe Pillars of Hercules, which was awarded UK best small organic store in 2006, will float your boat?

Seafood lovers will be drawn to local catches of Langoustine and crab, as well as Iain Spink’s famous Arbroath Smokies.

If you’re feeling a little thirsty after that, why not wash it down with a pint from the Organic Beer Pavilion, brewed by the Black Isle Brewery or some Fairshare juice, sourced from cooperative farmers in Cuba, or Malawian coffee?

COMMUNITY groups from across Scotland are working together to make their villages and towns greener places to live.

 

From growing food locally, producing green energy and reducing waste, to campaigning on climate change, these groups are coming together in the Climate Change Zone of this year’s Big Tent.

Each of the groups represented in the zone has received support from the Scottish Government’s Climate Challenge Fund, which provides help to organisations trying to reduce emissions.

Featuring projects from Knoydart to Moffat, Dunbar to Eigg, Craigmiller to Castlemilk, plus local groups from Largoward, the East Neuk and Howe of Fife, the zone will display the practical action communities everywhere are taking towards shared goals.

 

Representatives from some of the groups will also be joining panel discussions at the end of each day as ‘Carbon Champions’ discussing dynamic community responses to climate change.

 

Take a wander through the zone, where many of the groups will be displaying exhibitions and hosting activities.

 

There will be plenty of opportunities to chat to members about their achievements and experiences, before visiting the VIP (Very Important Planet) area, to relax and enjoy Malawian fair trade tea and coffee.

Our forests may be down to one per cent of what they once were but the Wild about Wood Zone at Big Tent shows that Scotland’s forest and wood culture is alive and well.

 

With a stage made of Falkland wood set in a hollow in the Palace orchard, an information kiosk created by a local craftsman or eating beef and salad grown within walking distance of the site, Big Tent is all about sustainable living and local produce. Whilst the programme of talks, music and demonstrations will appeal to all who enjoy a little spark in their lives as well as tree lovers and those who burn woodfuel!

 

The launch of Scotland’s Wild Harvests Association on Saturday and of Fuel for the Future (Scottish Woodfuel News) on Sunday plus the Scottish Ecological Design Association’s Carbon Clinics for homeowners and builders (at 12 and 3pm each day) show how fast this “source local” movement is growing, spurred on by TV chefs and events like Big Tent.

 

Woodland Voices sessions will spark conversations on woody topics. So come and learn about community owned forests with fiery spirits Fi Martynoga on Carrifran Wildwood, Suzann Barr on Abriachan Forest Trust and David Blair on plans for Kilfinan; grasp some thorny questions about planting trees to offset carbon emissions; engage with poets Mandy Haggith and Gerry Loose; and hear about the joys and tribulations of working with Scottish wood with leading furniture historian, David Jones and accomplished furniture maker Angus Ross who has returned to Scotland in recent years.