The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Growth festival to feed the body and the mind
Afestival designed to inspire Scots to grow their own food has been launched. The Dandelion programme will follow the arc of the growing season and bring together science, technology, art and music to inspire people to “sow, grow and share” – not just food, but music, ideas and knowledge.
All over Scotland, the free programme will demonstrate that growing your own food can be easy and aims to make doing so as accessible as possible.
The team will travel the country, with stops lined up in Forres, Inverness, and Wick.
Dandelion has already distributed a series of edible gardens around the country, but now these are to become touring musical installations on wheels – known as cubes – and will stop off at places including Inverness Botanic Gardens.
These sleekly designed cubes blend horticultural skill and technological innovation.
They are part of a series of musical installations, featuring programmable light and quadraphonic sound.
Each cube will showcase commissioned music from 15 Scottish and international artists, including Craig Armstrong, Arooj Aftab & Maeve Gilchrist, and Jason Singh.
The cubes will visit sites in Wick and Thurso, Uist, Alness and Forres.
Dandelion’s musical director, Donald Shaw recognises the unique relationship between horticulture and music.
“Just as plants can grow from tiny seeds, great music can grow from small
ideas that we nourish until they bloom into full art forms,” he said.
“The cubes can demonstrate accelerated growing in a wide range of settings, both the expected and unexpected.
“Placed in a particular environment they create a micro-world within a
world, allowing musicians and listeners to imagine a sonic landscape that surrounds us, providing a space for us to imagine a future where we sow, grow and share differently.”
Funded by the Scottish Government, Dandelion is Scotland’s contribution to Unboxed, a celebration of creativity taking place this year.
Culture Minister Neil Gray said: “The principles at the heart of the Dandelion projects and celebrations – of sharing ideas, knowledge and bringing together expertise for the common good – are more important than ever.”
Paul Bush, director of events at Visit Scotland, said: “Dandelion is an incredibly diverse and exciting addition to Scotland’s events landscape.”
Dandelion’s team will also be distributing plants and offering advice during a “free for all event” at The Bught Park in Inverness on July 23.
Dandelion festivals will run in Northern Meeting Park, Inverness between September 2-4. To find out more, visit the Dandelion site.