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4 April,
2007
A SHOWCASE of events celebrating Shetland's fishing heritage will
provide a major boost to this year's Johnsmas Foy, it was announced
yesterday (Wednesday).
The action begins with a three day festival in Skeld on 15 June and
ends with a weekend of events in Northmavine ten days later.
One of the highlights of the Foy will be the arrival in Lerwick of
the former Dutch herring lugger Lotos SCH445, which used to visit
Shetland nearly 100 years ago.
The Skeld Festival of the Sea is built around the fact that the
village's waterfront was once a major centre for the fishing
industry, as a herring station in the early 19th century and as a
base for the Faroese cod industry
The three day event will feature exhibitions about Faroese smacks,
cod fishing and curing, wrecks, rescues, flit boats and salmon
farming.
Live music, yacht and yoal racing, traditional Shetland dancing,
demonstrations of boat building, storytelling and local food stalls
will also be part of the busy weekend.
During the midsummer week the Lotos, which is now a sailing vessel,
will be offering short trips from Lerwick's Victoria Pier. Onboard,
tasters of Dutch herring, 'Holland's Nieuwe' and Dutch Jenever
prepared in the traditional way will be offered to guests. |
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The Johnsmas Foy should
close on a high note with the Northmavine Peerie Foy, which will
include the North Sea/Atlantic Challenge at Mavis Grind, where
rowers will carry their boats across this thin strip of land,
recreating how fishermen of old used this as a short cut to move
between fishing grounds.
Other events on offer over the ten days include three Scottish
Chamber Orchestra concerts and a Shetland dialect play entitled 'It
wis hard wark but...'. The play provides an insight into the
hard-working lives of women involved in the herring industry in the
1930s.
Johnsmas Foy committee member Alastair Hamilton said: "Centuries ago
Johnsmas marked the annual arrival of the Dutch herring fleet to
Shetland, always at midsummer.
"We wanted to recognise this important marker as the theme for this
year's event, paying tribute to an industry that is central to our
heritage.
"The Johnsmas Foy aims to include as many significant
community-based events as possible to provide visitors with a
gateway to exploring all areas of Shetland and to ensure that the
economic benefit of the festival is spread throughout the islands.
"This year's programme is guaranteed to give a real taster of
Shetland's rich fishing heritage and combined with music,
entertainment, food and drink activities will be a truly unique way
to celebrate midsummer."
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