Halloween Hairst Festival

In 2002 Deveron Projects organised a Halloween festival in Huntly at the end of October, bringing artists and community together to celebrate the ancient tradition of Samhain in Scotland. Through dressing up and having fun, we celebrated the traditional Celtic New Year, associated with the seasonal harvest, a key aspect of rural life. Since then, the Halloween festival in Huntly has grown into an annual event, with an independent committee and its own programme of events over the Halloween period. Halloween in Huntly has recently been renamed Huntly Hairst, a festival celebrating the traditional Scottish Harvest as a food and art festival.

Since its inception the festival has provided an opportunity for seasonal celebration and family gathering and participation. Recently, young people from Huntly collaborated and performed with international performance group Dudendance, while throughout the years contributions to the festival have also come from Shona Donaldson, Donal Brown, Fabiana Galante, Merlyn Riggs and the ajtc Theatre Company.

Cath Whippie joined Deveron Projects for a residency in 2007. She worked with the Huntly and District Pipe Band to create a series of masks, including the spectacular golden eagle mask for the Drum Major.