Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

5 things to do this weekend: Get Set for Summer, European Pipe Band Championships and Refugee Festival Scotland

Get ready for the first official weekend of summer with one of the many events taking place across the north and north-east.

The European Pipe Band Championships are taking place in Duthie Park. Image: Kath Flannery / DC Thomson
The European Pipe Band Championships are taking place in Duthie Park. Image: Kath Flannery / DC Thomson

The solstice earlier this week means we are now officially in summer.

Not that we hadn’t been feeling like we were already due to the hot weather and slightly dramatic storms we have been experiencing these last few weeks.

To get you properly into the summer spirit, we have compiled our top picks of the events and activities happening across the north and north-east this weekend.

Get Set for Summer

You can support Highland Pride at the event. Image: Sandy McCook / DC Thomson

Families are going to want to get themselves to the Northern Meeting Park in Inverness this Saturday.

High Life Highland is hosting Get Set for Summer, a free event that hopes to help families have a fun day out without worrying about the cost of living crisis.

The event, taking place between 11am and 5pm promises live entertainment, sporting activities, charity challenges and games.

You can support local charities including Mikeysline, Highland Hospice and Highland Pride.

Storyland Sessions Ceilidh

Merryn Glover will be along to join in the fun.

If you are in the mood to celebrate Highland heritage while having a boogie, the Storylands Sessions Ceilidh Concert is the place to be this weekend.

Hosted by Badenoch Heritage in Newtonmore Village Hall on Saturday night, the event invites people to enjoy the best of traditional music, dance and storytelling with an upbeat, contemporary twist.

Author Merryn Glover will be a storyteller and co-host on the night.

Tickets for the event, which kicks off at 7pm, can be bought at www.eventbrite.co.uk.

European Pipe Band Championships

The championships were held in Inverness last year. Image: Sandy McCook / DC Thomson

Pipe bands from across the world will be marching into Aberdeen this weekend for the highly prestigious European Pipe Band Championships.

This year’s event will be held in Duthie Park from 9.30am to 6.30pm after taking place in the Highland capital of Inverness last year.

As well as listening to the 101 bands and 25 drum majors that are expected to attend, there is lot of fun to be had including theatre performers, canoeing and a Dinoworld QR trail.

Tickets are available at www.aberdeencity.gov.uk.

Scottish Mental Health First Aid Workshop

Young people will be trained up on how to support others. Image: Shutterstock

West Highland College UHI is hosting a free two-day mental health first aid workshop this weekend.

It is open to 16 to 22-year-olds and will cover attitudes to mental health issues, drugs and alcohol, suicide prevention, listening skills and more.

At the end of the workshop, participants will be recognised Mental Health First Aiders, with qualifications are provided by Public Health Scotland.

Reserve a spot at www.eventbrite.co.uk.

Refugee Festival

The event will be held at St Andrew’s Cathedral. Image: Heather Fowlie / DC Thomson

Refugee Festival Scotland is coming to Aberdeen this weekend, with Aberdeen Interfaith Group hosting an event called You, Me and a Cup of Tea.

Taking place at St Andrew’s Cathedral on Sunday from 3pm to 5pm, the event will be a family-friendly, multi-cultural afternoon of crafts, conversation, music and food from Scotland, Syria and Ukraine.

There will also be people who came to Aberdeen seeking refugee protection and representatives from the communities that welcomed them speaking at the event.