An annual festival celebrating the heritage of the Mearns will be held next weekend.
This year’s programme for the Mearns Connections Festival will focus on World War I, highlighting the effect the conflict had on people in the area.
Events will also focus on local writer Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s take on the war in his famous novel Sunset Song, which is currently being made into a film featuring scenes shot in Fettercairn.
The festival, organised by the team at the Grassic Gibbon Centre in Arbuthnott for the last six years, will open with an Oatmeal Supper on August 8.
Traditional singer Robert Lovie will provide the entertainment, along with fiddler Raemond Jappy and Scottish folksinger and humorist Tich Frier.
The popular Ballad Bus will return the next day, taking passengers from the centre to Fettercairn, Laurencekirk and Gourdon. They will hear stories and songs linked to each place as they go by, and this year there will also be a particular focus on the area’s war memorials.
In the evening, Scottish legend Jimmie Macgregor will tell the story of naturalist John Muir through songs, stories and photographs.
The festival will draw to a close on August 10, when a special service will be held at Arbuthnott Church led by Rev Dennis Rose.
For tickets, call 01561 361668 or visit www.grassicgibbon.com