The seating and admission tickets for this year’s Cowal Highland Gathering will go on sale on Monday 22nd February 2010 at 12 noon (UK time).

At this time the link on the home page of the Gathering’s website (www.cowalgathering.com) will go live and clicking on the link will take you to the order forms. Please note all payments will be processed by Paypal, however, it is not necesarry to have a Paypal account to pay in this way. Simply have your card details to hand and the payment will go through Paypals secure servers.

As always we expect great demand for the Saturday Grandstand seats and these are likely to sell out in the first 10 minutes or so and as such we recommend you are online early.

Other key dates will be confirmed soon so please keep checking for regular updates.

Regards

Malcolm Barclay

Event Manager

The page will publish news, updates, photos and will ask for feedback on certain matters as well as being a way for fans of Cowal to communicate with each other.

We hope that you will visit us and sign up, 214 already have in less than a week, and keep coming back for your vital updates and to share messages and photos etc.

See you online soon!

Malcolm

I would like to wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year.

It may only be the first week in January but plans for this year’s Cowal Gathering are already at an advanced stage and i thought it it would be appropriate to update everyone on some important dates.

Seating and admission tickets will go on sale via the website in mid February, with the dancing entries going online in mid March. The solo piping forms will be available via the website in mid April. The exact dates will be confirmed nearer the time in a blog and on the website.

More blogs will follow confirming all important dates and deadlines and updating you with what you can expect to see at this year’s Cowal Highland Gathering.

I hope to see you at Cowal in August.

Malcolm

I also want to thank our event conveners, judges, stewards and scrutineers for their hard work in helping to making the event a success.

Another big thank you goes to our sponsors, patrons, partner agencies and suppliers for supporting and assisiting in staging the Gathering.

To all of you and Kate and Kirsten in the office………THANK YOU!!

Now a well established component of the GAthering we are hoping for a record number of entrants this year. As usual the race will begin by the Yachtsman cafe at 19.15 and the route will take you along the river Clyde towards Innellan before you double back to finish back at the Yachtsman.

There is a trophy for the overall winner and the first local home will receive the “Willie Jukes Memorial Trophy”. All finishers will also receive a medal in recognition of their feat.

Registration forms are available from the Gathering Office on 01369 703206 or by visiting www.cowalgathering.com and download the form from the other events page.

We hope you will come along and take part.

The Ceilidh Tent although only in its third year is now a well established feature of the Saturday at Cowal and will be for the foreseeable future thanks to secured sponsorship from McArthur Property Services.

Thanks to generous support by two local businesses, Argyll Holidays and Cowal Building and Plumbing Supplies Ltd (who also own Loch Lomond Garden Centre) we have managed to secure two top line acts for this year – so yet again the Cowal Ceilidh Tent gets bigger and better!

Come along and enjoy some refreshments in the Ceilidh Tent Bar while enjoying performances throughout the afternoon from:

1200 HRS    KINLOCH CEILIDH BAND
Featuring Archie and Alex McAllister this well known west coast ceilidh band are certain to get people on their feet from the start.  A great way to kick start an afternoon of exceptional entertainment

1300 HRS    TIRIODH
Keeping with the Cowal Ceilidh Tent tradition of showcasing new upcoming bands; we are delighted to welcome Tiriodh – a young teenage ceilidh band based in Fife comprising cousins – Scot Wilson and Craig McNicol, and their younger brothers Niall Wilson and Ross McNicol.  They already have a considerable track record individually in the traditional music scene so come along and give them a real Cowal welcome!

1400 HRS    GARETH MITCHELSON
Last year’s dance slot was a welcome addition to the Ceilidh Tent so this year we will continue with the trend.  This will be a spectacle not to be missed!  Former World Highland Dancing Champion from the 1980’s, Gareth Mitchelson, will attempt a Guinness Book of Records attempt at performing a 50 Step Highland Fling!  This is a real chance to put both Gareth and Cowal in the record books so come along and give him your support.  Gareth has been working up to this world record attempt during fundraising efforts to raise awareness of Duchennes Muscular Dystrophy a disorder suffered by his four year old son Logan, whilst also raising funds for Action Duchennes a charity that is actively seeking a cure for this devastating illness.

1415 HRS    SKERRYVORE
Described as the “the boy band of traditional Scottish Music Skerryvore’s mix of traditional ceilidh instruments with guitar, bass and drums guarantees to provide an exciting spectacle every time.  With the added attraction of their brass section this Cowal performance will be explosive and the Ceilidh Tent will undoubtedly be the place to be.  Showcasing some of their new material this will be a chance to hear tracks from their new album before they jet off to their next engagement in Beijing!

1600 HRS    RED HOT CHILLI PIPERS
Last year’s performance was irrefutably “red hot” and the crowd reaction spoke for itself as the Cowal Ceilidh Tent rocked to the high energy performance given by the Chilli’s.  From the spectacular Drum Duo to their rendition of Highland Cathedral the Cowal crowd loved every single minute.  Last year saw the impromptu inclusion of the Red Hot Chilli Dancers………who wowed the crowd with their dazzling costumes and spectacular dance routines.  Will we see a return of this Red Hot Dance troupe?  You’ll have to come along and see……….

DON’T HEAR ABOUT IT AFTER THE EVENT    –    BE THERE!

As publicised at the beginning of the year the dancing order was decided by a random computerised draw. This draw was independently witnessed by Christine Lacey, Chair of the SOBHD, and Helen Ford, Administration Manager of the SOBHD.  I would like to thank Christine and Helen for coming to Dunoon to observe the draw taking place.

The competitor packs are currently being put together and should be posted out in the next few days.  So you can all look forward to your dancing numbers landing on your front mat very shortly.

Regards

Malcolm Barclay

Just a reminder that the closing date

for the solo piping and dancing competitions is Wednesday 1st July at 11.59pm. At this time the forms will be removed from the website and it will no longer be possible to enter these events.

Please note that late entries will not be accepted under any circumstances. Competitor numbers and passes will be sent out during july.

Regards

Malcolm

The Patrons’ packages are designed to allow  individuals and businesses/ groups to make a contribution towards the cost of staging a world class event such as Cowal and to receive certain benefits in return e.g. admission tickets to the event and a quiet, pleasent place to relax away from the crowds whilst maintaining.

It offers the opportunity to not only be associated with the Gathering but also to feel pride in the knowledge that your contribution is going someway to securing the future and allowing for the growth and expansion of this unique highland gathering.

The details of the packages are;

LIFE PATRON

Life patronage is offered to supporters of Cowal who wish to make a generous donation to be used in the furtherance of the Gathering and improvements to the facilities offered to visitors and competitors.

Cost: £200 + £30 annual subscription (to cover ongoing costs of postage, tickets, programmes etc)

Benefits:

• Complimentary ticket for each day
• Enamel Cowal Lapel Badge (1st year only)
• Complimentary programme
• Life Patrons Certificate
• Access to the newly resited and enhanced Patrons Marquee which now offers a view of the main arena
• Ability to pre book one seat in the grandstand for saturday
• listing in programme and on website

BUSINESS PATRON

This package is for businesses and groups who wish to support the event whilst benefitting from the added exposure that being involved with the Gathering can bring.

Cost: £150 per annum

Benefits:

• Certificate
• Listing in programme and on the website
• listing on sponsors board at the stadium
• 4 admission tickets for Friday and Saturday
• complimentary programme
• Access to the newly resited and enhanced Patrons Marquee which now offers a view of the main arena
• A complimentary glass of wine on arrival in patrons marquee (on redemption of voucher)

PATRON

The patron package is the basic package for those who wish to support the event and enjoy the comfort of the patron’s tent.

Cost: £20 per annum

Benefit:

• Complimentary admission ticket for Friday and Saturday
• Patrons Rosette
• Access to the newly resited and enhanced Patrons Marquee which now offers a view of the main arena

I am delighted to confirm that the Argyll Food Producers will be at this year’s Cowal Highland Gathering and will be providing the all important food court.

Argyll Food Producers are a collaboration of high quality food producers from Argyll. From their outlets in the food court they will be serving a range of freshly prepared, locally sourced quality dishes that will include seafood from Loch Fyne Oysters, Venison dishes from Winston Churchill Venison, beef and lamb dishes from Barbreck Farms and Taste of Bute as well as the most sensational puddings from Bumble’s puddings. Kingscross Herbs, Inverloch Cheese and Eden Deli will also be in attendence with their own fantastic ranges of food.

The group won rave reviews for the quality of their food at last year’s Connect Festival amongst others and I am delighted to have them at Cowal this year, as I am sure, you will  be once you have sampled their produce.

The only problem is deciding what to have!!!!!!!