Get your diary ready as we have six events not to be missed this week.
- ABERDEEN FASHION WEEK
The Granite City will join the likes of London, Paris and Milan this weekend as it hosts the Aberdeen Fashion Week.
The two-day event has been organised by multi-award-winning fashion designer Lydia Cutler and will feature around 50 designers from home and abroad showcasing their work.
Students from Gray’s School of Art and Heriot-Watt University will also be taking part in the event.
Lord Provost George Adam will give a speech of welcome before each designer takes to the catwalk to wow the crowds with their designs.
The event takes place this Saturday, April 23, and Sunday, April 24, from 11am to 5pm. Tickets are priced £12 and £17 for front-row seats. They are available from www.aberdeenshirefashionweek.co.uk
2. WATOTO CHILDREN’S CHOIR
The north-east is set to experience a taste of Africa next week, when the world-renowned Watoto Children’s Choir visits the city and shire.
The group – known across the globe for its vibrant shows – will perform at King’s Community Church on Tuesday, April 26, and Wednesday., April 27. They will also perform at AOG Central, Queens Road, Fraserburgh on April 23 at 7pm and and April 24 from 6pm.
The choir travels internationally to raise awareness of the estimated 50million children in Africa who have been orphaned as a result of HIV/Aids, war, poverty and disease.
Accompanied by a team of adults, the choir presents Watoto’s vision and mission through colourful performances which are packed with lively stories, music and dance.
Each of the children in the choir has suffered the loss of their parents, either through war or disease. Now they live in Watoto Children’s Villages, where they receive the care and support to grow up as productive citizens of their own country.
To book free tickets to the Watoto Children’s Choir performances, which will start at 7pm, please visit www.kingscommunitychurch.org
3. AVENUE Q
Avenue Q, a hilarious puppet-filled musical, is heading to the Highlands next week – and it is like nothing you’ve ever seen.
Proposed as a TV production, this outrageous show has been in almost constant production somewhere in the world since 2003.
It tells the story of university graduate Princeton, who moves into a shabby New York apartment. There, he meets a host of colourful characters who help him transition into the real world and find his purpose in life.
And while you may see puppets and automatically think kids show, you’d be wrong in the case of this unusual musical. Packed with plenty of risque jokes, sexual innuendo and political incorrectness, this is not a children’s production. It is recommended for ages 14 and up.
Avenue Q will at Eden Court, Inverness, from April 26-30. Ticket prices range from £21 to £28.50 and are available from Eden Court Box Office, 01463 234234 or by visiting www.eden-court.co.uk
4. ABERDEEN FESTIVAL OF ARCHITECTURE
Aberdeen’s rich architectural heritage is being showcased throughout April as part of the Aberdeen Festival of Architecture.
The celebration, which has been organised by the Aberdeen Society of Architects, boasts a wide range of events taking place for all ages. The exciting programme is part of the Scotland-wide Festival of Architecture 2016.
Key highlights include a programme of guest talks by some of the world’s most renowned architects. These have been organised by 57°10, a group of architecture students from Robert Gordon University (RGU). The next one will be held at the Garthdee Campus tomorrow April 22at 7pm.
You can also take part in a Design Your Own City hands-on workshop – a fun and interactive session encouraging people to think about the various components and layout of an ideal city – running at the mirrored pavilion festival hub in Castlegate until this Saturday. April 23.
There are also walking tours highlighting the city’s varied architecture. Routes will include Old Aberdeen, Footdee and a prehistory and mediaeval Aberdeen tour. These will take place today April 21and on Saturday, April 23, from different locations.
The festival runs until April 30. For more details, see the festival programme or visit: www.foa2016.aberdeenarchitects.org
5. DAVID ROBERTS EXHIBITION
This year has been designated the year in which Scotland’s many achievements in innovation, architecture and design are showcased and celebrated. The works of one of the big stars of this world, David Roberts, can be seen currently at Duff House, Banff.
David Roberts: Drawings From the Helen Guiterman Bequest, showcases more than 30 drawings and watercolours by the Edinburgh-born artist from different periods throughout his career. Also on display will be a portrait of Roberts in Arab dress, painted by his friend and fellow Scottish artist Robert Scott Lauder.
An easel painter and talented draughtsman, Roberts is best known for his detailed architectural studies and is regarded as one of Britain’s most prolific and adventurous artists of the first half of the 19th century. This sense of adventure is demonstrated in the works which form the exhibition which is running until Sunday, July 10.
Exhibition curator Charlotte Topsfield said: “This exhibition will provide a fresh view of one of Scotland’s leading topographical artists and most intrepid travellers. From skilful pencil studies to dramatic cathedral interiors and panoramic landscapes, the drawings and watercolours on display demonstrate Roberts’s talent and versatility as an artist and his passionate interest in recording all that he saw on his travels.”
Contact: Duff House on www.duffhouse.org.uk
6. INVERNESS CHORAL SOCIETY
Inverness Choral Society is in concert this Saturday, filling Eden Court Theatre with the wonderful sounds of Faure’s Requiem, which has been a popular addition to the choral repertoire ever since its first performance.
The society is delighted to be able to present the work in Inverness again. The packed programme also includes two further works by Fauré – the Cantique de Jean Racine and the much-loved Pavane.
Conducted by Gordon Tocher, the evening also includes composer John Rutter’s Feel the Spirit. As it’s not often choral societies perform works by living composers, choral member Fran Tilbrook decided to write to the composer. He replied, wishing the performers, conductor and audience well and saying he wished he could attend and what a treat the audiences had in store.
Mr Tocher said that, on Saturday, the choir will sing Fauré’s 1893 version of his requiem, which has simpler orchestration than the more usually performed 1900 edition.
He said: “With its peace, light and consolation, it’s no wonder the requiem has such an enduring appeal.”
Joining the choir and orchestra are soloists Douglas Nairne and Eilidh McEwan.
The concert concludes with Rutter’s arrangement of seven familiar American spirituals, Feel the Spirit.
“Marion Ramsay is our soloist. By the time we reach the end of When the Saints Go Marching In, we hope the audience’s spirits will have been well and truly lifted,” said Mr Tocher.
The Choral Society’s concert takes place this Saturday, April 23, in Eden Court Theatre and starts at 7.30pm. For tickets contact 01463 234234.