One of summer’s deepest joys is the festival season. James Smart and Ruth Kerr have sorted the wheat from the chaff to come up with a run-down of 57 of the best.

estivals are big business. This _vear 'l' in Park sold ottt in da_vs. (ilastotthtlt') in a tnatter ol‘ hours. lidinhurgh’s population doubles in si/e over its l'estival season. In part. the appeal of these events is based on their line—ups. But festivals are about more than the names on their puhlicitv material. 'l‘hev‘rc about the chance to vvake up vvhen _vou vvant. to idle in the summer sun. to discover something _vou never knevv existed and to stand. for a tnoment. atnong a gt'ottp of people vvho are here for the same reason as you. a mini-socier that for a l‘evv days at least —- can seetn inlinitelv tnore appealing than the closed vvalls of our homes and ol'lices. llogmanav and the lidinhurgh l‘estival deline Scotland for many visitors. Indeed. thanks to events such as llogmanav. Beltane. 'l‘riptvch and the (ilasgovv (‘omedv liestival. Scotland's festivals stretch across the vvhole _vear. \‘vere

Cannes Film Festival

18 THE LIST 1:) 1mm... no»,

focusing on the long summer season. and this guide is not e\haustive. In most cases. vve’ve lel't out events that have alreadv sold out. But here _vou'll lind (ill ol' the summer's hest events in Scotland and lievoiid. Some are hig and corporate and attended h_v the vvorld. its aunt and llL‘l' tlttg. ()lllcl‘s L‘\l\l Ltl lllL‘ gl’;t\\t‘titil\ lL‘\ cl. \\ illl no hig sponsors or hranded souvenirs. Some _vou'll never have heard ol.

You can dance to gnaotta in Morocco. throvv tomatoes in Hunol. eat o_\ sters in (ialvvav. drink heer in Munich. vvatch a heav_v rinetal hatlle in

l)erh_\. run vvith the hulls at l’amplona. hear

clectronica in Stirling. sec \ick (ave in eastern Spain. vvatch the hest mountain hikers in the vvorld in l-‘oi‘t William. clap opera in Stissev. vvatch movies in Venice and admire art in l’ittenvveem. ll that isn‘t enough for _vou. voti should prohahl} inst sta_\ at home all summer.

Theatre

Music

Classic Cars

Film

Food 8. Drink

Camping Kid-friendly Outdoors

ONGOING McEwan’s Sessions

. www.visitscotland.com/mcewanssessions In a nutshell: :1

11- 22 MAY Cannes Film Festival. Prices vary. " ~.' :- .'.' 12' »\'. 1'

www.festival-cannes.fr In a nutshell: " w ‘-

16 - 30 MAY

Burns An' A’ That fififi

Ayrshire and Arran. 01292 290300. 1 [_““,,.:\(’\\,."‘t\‘ . ‘, , ,

www.burnsfestiva|.com In a nutshell:

16MAY-9JULY Ya Basta! v. 0..

Aberdeen. Edinburgh and Glasgow. :