Robin Ince joins Dark Skies Festival programme
Organisers for the 2020 Hebridean Dark Skies Festival have announced several new programme highlights.
First up is Robin Ince, the multiple award-winning comedian best known for co-hosting the international smash hit, Rose D’Or and Sony Award-winning BBC Radio 4 and podcast series, The Infinite Monkey Cage, with Professor Brian Cox, and the acclaimed Book Shambles podcast with Josie Long.
Robin will be bringing his Chaos of Delight, ‘a celebration of the human mind, from Bohemians to Black Holes, Dali to DNA’ to the festival on Thursday February 13.
The festival will also bring g-Astronomy to Lewis, in which astrophysicist Roberto Trotta will join forces with chefs at An Lanntair and Uig Sands restaurant to present a special interactive culinary experience that translates
complex astrophysics into an edible and educational experience for everybody, over the course of a delicious and sociable evening meal.
g-Astronomy will be open for bookings very soon – keep an eye on An Lanntair’s website for updates.
Finally, the festival is joining forces with Immerse Hebrides for a night swim on Wednesday February 12. The ticket price includes head torches, adventure lights, safety tow floats and a guided swim around a loch or easily accessible beach.
These events are the latest addition to a long list of Hebridean Festival highlights, including a new show by Karine Polwart, Sky at Night presenter Chris Lintott teaming up with jazz musician Steve Pretty, arts and astronomy project Creativity and Curiosity, while Dark Skies film programme will bring together four science fiction films – Solaris, Contact, Interstellar and Ad Astra – that explore human connections across the cosmos. Now in its second year, the Hebridean Dark Skies Festival – led by An Lanntair in partnership with Stornoway Astronomical Society, Calanais Visitor Centre, Gallan Head Community Trust, Lews Castle College and new partners including Uig Sands – will bring two weeks of arts and astronomy events to the Isle of Lewis.
The 2020 festival will run from February 7-22 , with an ambitious and exciting programme spanning theatre, live music, film, visual art, food, astronomy talks, and stargazing.
Festival programmer Andrew Eaton-Lewis said: 'We’re delighted to be adding Robin Ince and Roberto Trotta to an already packed programme, providing all the more reason to spend some time on the Isle of Lewis in February.'