Lughnasadh Art & Music Festival

Sat 1 August, 2-9pm

Forgan Arts Centre and Big Rock Records join forces once again to bring you an afternoon and evening of live music and art activities.

“A wonderful, warm and fuzzy flavour that not all festivals can claim” –Snack Mag

Our event is a nod to the ancient festival of Lughnasadh, one of four festivals we host annually to create connections to the cycles of nature and to celebrate the turning of the Celtic wheel. Lughnasadh marks the beginning of the harvest season and celebrates the final days of summer.

Music line-up

Taking to the stage this year are pioneering, songwriting powerhouse Hen Hoose Collective; electro-acoustic-psych-pop master Pictish Trail with his full band; singer-songwriter (and founding member of The Delgados & Chemikal Underground) Emma Pollock; electronic duo Roller Disco Death Party; saxophonist/composer Matt Carmichael, and Dundee garage soul band Holy Snakes, with the Funky Gunners DJ Collective keeping the beats going between acts.

Arts programme

This year’s art programme celebrates the folk origins of Lughnasadh, exploring creative ways of connecting to the harvest season. Across the site, spot specially-commissioned colourful signage, created by artist Zoe Gibson in collaboration with our volunteers. Drop in and be guided by straw weaver Elaine Lindsay to create harvest knots from locally-harvested grain. Earthworm or oak leaf: stitch a patch emblem of your garden hero with textile artist Eilidh Weir. Explore our hidden hedges with artist Maeve Totolehibe and create beeswax portals in the undergrowth. Bring a tshirt or buy a tea-towel to print your very own Lughnasadh design in natural inks, guided by screenprinter Sarah Gillespie.

Other happenings

Visit a pop-up session of the Wee Anti-Racist Library in the garden. From 2-4pm, you can browse and borrow a wide range of books for adults and children, exploring various themes around anti-racism, community, solidarity, and mutual aid.

Bring your bike for a free tune-up, as we host a Dr Bike session with Dundee Cycle Hub between 2-5pm! See below more information for festival cyclists.

Food and drink

Expect delicious food and drinks from Scotland’s tastiest independent producers, including:

• Eastfield
• EH9 Espresso
• Machair Bakery
• Fig & Fromage Deli
• Iraqi Thistle
• The Tuskers
• Serendipities
• Aeble Cider

Plus the full Forgan Bar, with locally-sourced beer, wine, spirits and non-alcoholic options!

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I volunteer?

While we don’t engage volunteers to run our seasonal events, we have opportunities to get involved in the preparations. For this Lughnasadh, we invite you to a Sign Painting Workshop with Zoe Gibson on 24 & 25 July, to create colourful, visual signage for the festival. If you’re interested in getting involved with our wider volunteer programme, email volunteer@forganartscentre.co.uk.

Can I bring my dog?

Well behaved four-legged friends are very welcome to Lughnasadh. Please note that the festival environment is busy, noisy and can be overwhelming or overstimulating. Consider your dog’s wellbeing and comfort when you decide to bring them. You can also bring a bowl, there will be a signposted water point to top it up.

What food and drink options are available?

We’re going to have a wide range of delicious snacks, cakes, salads, stews, dips, rice dishes and bagels available to purchase from local vendors on site. Expect to find stalls by Eastfield, EH9 Espresso, Machair Bakery, Fig & Fromage Deli, Iraqi Thistle, The Tuskers and Serendipities! We’ll be hosting Aeble Cider again, as well as running our own full bar and can bar with plenty of alcoholic and non-alcoholic options. There is also a drinking water tap in the garden so you can top up your bottles easily.

Can I bring refreshments from outside?

You’re welcome to bring a picnic, though there will be plenty of vendors offering a range of options. Please do not bring alcoholic drinks from outside, and we have a strict no-glass policy, so no glass bottles.

How can I get to the festival?

Help us reduce the impact of Lughnasadh! We strongly encourage you to consider travelling by foot, wheel, bike and public transport, where possible.

Bikes

We’re planning to make this the most bike-friendly Lughnasadh yet, with the help of our friends at Dundee Cycle Hub. You can expect:

• 10% discount on bike hire from Forks, on Dundee’s waterfront. Just enter the code ForganArts when booking, book the day hire option, and you can return the bike until 10pm on Sat 1 August, or Monday morning.

• A bike party from Dundee to Forgan Arts Centre. Cycle together as a group, taking quiet roads and shared paths over the river and through Newport-on-Tay. Meet at Forks from 11:30am onwards, fuel up with coffee and cake from the cafe, join the ride leaving at 1pm. All welcome to join!

• Free Dr Bike drop-in session from 2-5pm at Lughnasadh – bring your bike to the festival and check it in for a tune-up, while you enjoy the tunes!

• Lughnasadh is also a soft-launch of our new Green Bike Hub at the entrance of Forgan Arts Centre, providing lots of space for securely locking up your cycles.

Buses

We’re delighted that our local bus service provider Moffat & Williamson are putting extra capacity on the peak bus services from Dundee to Newport-on-Tay, to help folks travel to and from Lughnasadh.

You can expect plenty of room when you catch a bus from Dundee rail station at the following times: 12:38 13:38 14:38 15:38 (M77). And from Newport-on-Tay, heading home, at these times: 17:42 18:42 19:42 20:42 21:42 (77).

Folks coming from other parts of Fife can also catch a very regular 99 Stagecoach bus from St Andrews, Leuchars and Balmullo, stopping at Forgan Roundabout, which is a 25 minute walk from Forgan Arts Centre.

Trains

For anyone travelling from further afield, our closest rail stations are Dundee (a simple M77 bus, or bike ride away) and Leuchars (a very regular 99 Stagecoach bus to Forgan Roundabout, and a 25 minute walk away). Find times and book train tickets via Scotrail.

On foot and by wheelchair

Though we are located at the top of a short, steep street (Castle Brae) there are plenty of other routes on quiet roads and footpaths, with gentler inclines. See Open Street Map to try a new way, including the newly resurfaced nature trail from Wormit.

Email curator@forganartscentre.co.uk if you’d like more information around wheelchair access around the site.

Driving

Parking is extremely limited in our neighbourhood during Lughnasadh, particularly between 1pm and 4pm. If you have to drive, we recommend car pooling or sharing with others to reduce your impact on our neighbours and the planet.

We have four disabled car parking spaces by the art centre, which are bookable in advance by those who need them for access reasons. Do not attempt to park here unless you have reserved a space, as the driveway should be kept clear and safe for pedestrian and cycle access.

The nearest free parking is Waterstone Crook Car Park, a five minute walk from Forgan Arts Centre.