The Scottish Government

Smithsonian Folklife Festival

Scotland has been chosen to feature in the world-famous Smithsonian Folklife Festival this summer.

The Smithsonian Institution was founded in 1846 in Washington DC, and is the world's largest museum and research complex. It consists of the 16 national museums of the US, a zoo, magazine, press and recording company, and runs an education and outreach programme, the Smithsonian Associates programme.

The Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage produces an annual Folklife Festival on the National Mall in the heart of Washington DC.

The Festival is a research-based educational 'museum without walls' devoted to grassroots cultural heritage and this year's event will focus on Scotland, Mali and Appalachia. It runs from June 25 to 29 and then July 2 to 6.

In addition to more than one million, American TV, radio and press reaches another 40 million people.

Smithsonian Curator Dr Nancy Groce, who was responsible for drawing together the list of Scottish participants in the Folklife Festival, said:

"This event will bring the vitality and diversity of Scotland's traditional culture to the heart of Washington DC. Through dynamic performances, demonstrations and educational programmes, 'Scotland at the Smithsonian' will explain and celebrate the living traditions that make and sustain Scotland's distinctive culture.

"Our Festival provides a forum for Scots representing a wide range of talents and traditions to speak directly to the American public, sharing their enthusiasm about what makes Scotland Scottish."

Funding support for the Scottish participation in the Folklife Festival has come from the Scottish Executive, VisitScotland and the Scottish Arts Council.

James Boyle, Chairman of the Scottish Arts Council, said:

"The Folklife Festival is a wonderful event and a terrific opportunity to showcase Scotland's musicians, artists and crafts makers in the United States.

"We are delighted to be working with the Smithsonian Institution and other Scottish partners to help create a greater appreciation of Scotland's rich and vibrant culture."

Philip Riddle, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said:

"We are excited at the prospect of sponsoring the Smithsonian Associates programme and the Folklife Festival. Participation in these events provides an excellent platform for us to target a key group of US travellers.

"We are using this opportunity to run an extensive marketing campaign to encourage the Smithsonian's 57,000 members, and the wider US audience, to plan a visit to Scotland and experience our vibrant culture for themselves."

List of Scottish Participants

MUSIC

• Battlefield Band (Central Belt)

Alan Reid, co-founder, vocals/keyboards

Mike Katz, Highland pipes/small pipes/whistles/bass

Alasdair White, fiddle/whistles/bouzouki/bagpipes

Pat Kilbride, vocals/guitar/cittern

Over the past three decades, Battlefield Band has played a central role in the Scottish folk music revival. Although undergoing several changes in personnel, Battlefield continues to write and record important, innovative material. The band's extensive touring schedule makes it one of the best-known Scottish traditional bands in America. www.battlefieldband.co.uk

• Dr. Margaret Bennett (Skye/Edinburgh) -- Noted as a folklorist and scholar as well as an exceptional Gaelic and Scots singer and storyteller, Bennett is an Honorary Research Fellow at University of Glasgow and appears at the Festival as both a performer and a presenter. www.margaretbennett.co.uk
• City of Washington Pipe Band (Washington, D.C.) - A "local band," City of Washington is an internationally respected and award winning "Grade 1" band in the highly competitive world of Scottish piping. www.serve.com/cowpb
• Phil Cunningham (Portobello/Inverness) - Co-founder of the seminal 1970s band Silly Wizard and the 1980s supergroup Relativity, Cunningham is a gifted accordionist and a respected composer as well as a central figure in the world of Scottish traditional music. www.philcunningham.com
• Johnny Cunningham (Portobello/Massachusetts) - An extraordinary fiddler, composer, and entertainer, Johnny Cunningham was a co-founder of Silly Wizard, member of such noted groups as Relativity and Night Noise, and a mainstay of numerous Masters of Celtic Fiddle tours in the United States.

Now based in New England, he tours extensively and is a regular headliner at international festivals and concert series.

• Fiddlers' Bid (Shetland)

Christopher Stout, fiddle

Andrew Gifford, fiddle

Maurice Henderson, fiddle

Kevin Henderson, fiddle

Catriona McKay, clarsach (harp)/piano/vocals

Johnathon Ritch, bass

John Hutchison, guitar

Young eight-member fiddle-based band from Shetland dedicated to both old and new Shetland traditional music. Fiddlers' Bid tours internationally, but the Festival is their introduction to American audiences. In addition to their considerable artistry, they are enthusiastic and knowledgeable representatives of Shetlandic culture. www.fiddlersbid.com

• Alasdair Fraser (Clackmannan/California)

Alasdair Fraser, fiddle

Nathalie Hass, cello

One of Scotland's finest fiddlers and performers, Fraser is revered by Celtic music lovers on both sides of the Atlantic. Many Americans recognize his playing from movie soundtracks (The Last of the Mohicans, Titanic), performances at Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center, and for work with his critically acclaimed band Skyedance. Now based in California, he directs the 100 member San Francisco Scottish Fiddlers and his Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddle School, which has spread interest in Scottish fiddle styles throughout North America. He is joined by Natalie Hass on cello. www.alasdairfraser.com

• The Fochabers Fiddlers (Fochabers, Morayshire)

James Alexander, director

Members: Colin Black, Patricia Bonnar, Liam Bourret-Nyffeler, Carol Brown,

Kerry Cattanach, Fiona Christie, Rachel Christie, Carol Deeney, Louise Duncan, Lindsay Eccleston, Fiona Evans, Alexandra Gordon Smith, Amanda Hall, Moray Hillson, Georgina Innes, Hannah Jackson, Karen Laing, Sott McBey, Ross McDonald, Kirsty McLennan, Mairi McLennan, Duncan Menzies, Edward Mills, David Milne, Kathryn Milne, Laura Milne, Jenny Mitchell, Heather Munro, Eilidh Pattison, Lynette Reid, Philip Scarffe, Anna Smith, Jill Thomson, Ruth Thomson, Katrina Wallen, Sarah Watson, Claire Watt, Laura Watt. With Hilda Alexander, Katherine Robertson, James Robertson.

This young people's fiddle orchestra group from Fochabers in northern Scotland has several recordings and international tours to its credit. Led by James Alexander, the group's activities reflect the importance placed on traditional arts and arts instruction in Scottish communities. www.celtscot.ed.ac.uk/fiddle/fochabersfiddlers.htm

• Scott Gardiner (Forfar) - Gardiner grew up on a farm near Forfar in eastern Scotland. He is an enthusiastic singer of North East bothy (agricultural) ballads, many of which he learned from Tam and Anne Reid of Cullerlie, Aberdeenshire.
• William "Billy" Jackson (Glasgow/North Carolina) - A pre-eminent Scottish harper and founding member of the legendary band Ossian, Jackson is also well known as a composer, arranger, teacher, and performer. His song "Land of Light" won The Glasgow Herald's 1999 "Song for Scotland" competition. www.harp.dial.pipex.com/william.htm
• Alison Kinnaird (Edinburgh/Temple) & Christine Primrose (Lewis) - One of Scotland's foremost exponents of clarsach (harp) music, a scholar of harp history, a singer, and a renowned glass artist, Kinnaird was awarded the M.B.E. for services to music and art in 1997. Christine Primrose, with whom she often performs and records, is an outstanding Gaelic singer from the Isle of Lewis, who teaches traditional song at the Gaelic College in Skye. Both performers have won top honors at the National Mod and the Pan-Celtic Festival in Killarney. www.templerecords.co.uk
• Ishbel MacAskill (Inverness) - A leading interpreter and teacher of Gaelic song, story, and culture, MacAskill was recently featured on the Scottish Women's Tour and 2003 Celtic Connections Concert series. freespace.virgin.net/ishbel.macaskill
• Iain MacDonald (Glenuig/Benbecula) - A superb piper from a family of amazing pipers, MacDonald is also an excellent composer. A former member of Ossian and Battlefield Band, he is currently on the staff of the Gaelic College Sabhal Mor Ostaig on the Isle of Skye. www.roshvenrecords.com
• Adam McNaughtan (Glasgow) -- Songwriter, editor of Vol. 5 of the "Greig-Duncan Collection of Folk-Songs of the North-East," bookseller, singer, Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow in Scottish studies, former teacher, and authority on the City of Glasgow. His songs are frequently recorded by other performers and many have become Scottish classics. www.greentrax.com
• Brian McNeill (Falkirk/Glasgow) - An eminent songwriter, singer, fiddler, and multi-instrumentalist, McNeill was recently appointed Head of Scottish Music at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama and a mainstay of the Celtic Connections concert series. A co-founder of Battlefield Band and Clan Alba, he has been a leading figure in the Scottish folk music scene for more than three decades. McNeill has numerous recordings to his credit, and his songs and tunes are widely played and recorded by other artists. www.brianmcneill.co.uk
• Dr. Ed Miller (Edinburgh/Austin, TX) - A well-known singer, folklorist, and teacher, Miller is familiar to American audiences as a performer at festivals, clubs, Highland Games, and Burns Suppers. He also hosts "Folkways" on KUT-FM Austin, leads folksong-based tours to Scotland, and teaches at folk music camps throughout the United States. www.songsofscotland.com
• Fin Moore (Dunkeld) -- An excellent piper, Fin will also be assisting his father, Hamish Moore (see below), in demonstrating the making of Highland and Scottish Bellows Blown pipes. www.hamishmoore.musicscotland.com
• Karine Polwart (Edinburgh) - This important young singer and songwriter is already a veteran of several major groups, including Battlefield Band, and is currently performing with Malinky. www.malinky.com/karine.htm

Anne Reid (Cullerlie, Aberdeenshire) - With her late husband Tam Reid ("King of the Bothy Ballad"), Anne transformed their traditional farm into a small agricultural museum. For many years, the Reids' ceilidhs and festivals have been a mainstay of the Aberdeenshire cultural scene. An excellent singer in her own right, she is also an excellent cook and demonstrates her skills in both areas during the Festival.

• The Singing Kettle (Kingskettle, Fife) - Famed throughout the UK for their lively presentation of children's songs via concerts, CDs, videos, and frequent media appearances. Smithsonian Folkways Recording has just released The Singing Kettle: Singalong Songs from Scotland in conjunction with the Festival. www.singingkettle.com
• Sheena Wellington (Dundee) - An excellent performer and eloquent expert on Scottish music and culture, Wellington's recent accomplishments include her a capella rendition of Burns's "A Man's a Man for A' That" at the opening of Scottish Parliament in 1999 and her participation in the recent Scottish Women's Tour. http://www/scotfolk.com/wellington
• Gary West (Pithlochry, Perthshire) -- A noted piper and mainstay of the Scottish folk music scene, West has played with Vale of Atholl Pipe Band, Coelbeg, and the Scottish supergroup Clan Alba. He is a full-time lecturer in the University of Edinburgh's Department of Celtic and Scottish Studies, and a host of BBC Radio Scotland's weekly piping program, Pipeline. www.garywest.co.uk

The Wrigley Sisters (Orkney Islands)

Jennifer Wrigley, fiddle

Hazel Wrigley, guitar/piano

Excellent young fiddle and piano virtuosos from the Orkney Islands, the Wrigleys are preserving Orkney's local musical traditions while at the same time composing important new material. www.wrigleysisters.com

DANCE

• The Occasionals

Freeland Barbour, accordion

Ian Hardie, fiddle

Kevin MacLeod, banjo/mandolin

Gus Millar, drums

Robert Whitehead, accordion

Sheila McCutheon, caller/dancer

Grant Sinclair, dancer

Headed by accordionist virtuoso Freeland Barbour, this leading Edinburgh ceilidh group has been active since 1986 and frequently plays large festivals and dances throughout Scotland. Excellent instructors of Scottish ceilidh dance, the group has three CDs to its credit. mysite.freeserve.com/theoccasionals

• Maria Leask (Lerwick, Shetland) - A dedicated dancer and dance historian, Leask has been active in teaching and documenting Shetlandic dance traditions for the Shetland Arts Trust throughout Scotland and Europe.
• Deryck and Gareth Mitchelson (Angus) - Renowned exponents of Scottish dance, the Mitchelson Brothers specialize in Highland and step dance and are in great demand throughout the world as performers and teachers of traditional Scottish dance. www.celticspiritdance.com

STORYTELLING / NARRATIVE / ORAL HISTORY

• Stanley Robertson (Aberdeen) - Master storyteller Robertson grew up in a traditional Traveller's household. Nephew of the legendary ballad singer Jeannie Robertson, his family is an internationally renowned repository of Traveller's lore, Scottish song, balladry, stories, and folklore from Aberdeenshire and North East Scotland. He was recently appointed as a community researcher at the Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen. www.abdn.ac.uk/elphinstone.kist
• Lawrence Tulloch (Yell, Shetland) - Born in 1942 in Yell, Shetland, Tulloch grew up listening to stories told by his father, the renowned storyteller Tom Tulloch, and other community members. He has participated in numerous storytelling festivals and is one of Shetland's foremost storytellers. www.veesikrecords.co.uk
• Western Isles Storytelling Group (Outer Hebrides) - For several years, Chrisella Ross of the Gaelic Arts Agency in Stornoway, Lewis has worked with local storytellers in the Gaelic community to develop narratives based on their lives and experiences as crofters, fishermen, and island residents. She will be joined by Christina MacLean and Iain Macaulay.

POETRY / LANGUAGE

• Sheena Blackhall (Aberdeen) - A Creative Writing Fellow at the University of Aberdeen's Elphinstone Institute, Blackhall is a prominent Doric poet, storyteller, and singer, and is active in workshops and school programs. Her Scots languagge website, Elphinstone Kist,documents and encourages the writing and speaking of Doric - a distinctive version of Scots spoken in North East Scotland. www.abdn.ac.uk/elphinstone/kist
• Bill Innes (Glasgow) - A native of the Outer Hebrides, Innes is a passionate advocate of Gaelic poetry, language, and culture. His presentations and translations have been internationally acclaimed; his book, Chì Mi, won a National Mod literature prize.
• Billy Kay (Ayrshire/Scots) A noted writer, documentary producer, broadcaster, and authority on Scots and Scottish culture, Kay's accomplishments include the BBC/Odyssey series, and the book Scots: The Mither Tongue, as well as numerous plays, short stories, poems, dramatizations, and awards. www.sol.co.uk/b/billykay/billykay.htm

Aso: Leabhar Mor na Gaidhlig / Big Book of Gaelic

• An innovative arts project, The Big Book of Gallic marries Gaelic poetry from Ireland and Scotland with the art of leading contemporary Irish and Scottish artists to create a modern answer to the Book of Kells. For the Festival, Proiseact Nan Ealan/The Gaelic Arts Agency in Stornoway, Lewis, has reproduced a series of panels containing information about the Project and some of the remarkable artwork that it has inspired. www.gaelic-arts.com

GAMES

• Lexie and Ross Dunn (Glasgow) - Children's game experts Lexie and Ross Dunn from The Big Top in Glasgow teach workshops on Scottish traditional games to children and teachers in school districts throughout Scotland.

PANTOMIME

• Pantomime director and writer Alan McHugh (Glasgow) -- who in addition to his successful acting career (Sunset Song; Taggart; etc.) writes, directs, and stars in the annual panto at the Adam Smith Theatre, Kirkcaldy - is joined by RSAMD students William Barlow, Joanna Horton, and Lee O'Driscoll for workshops on the Scottish version of this uniquely British form of holiday entertainment.

CRAFTS / EXHIBITS

Sporran Making

• Marcus Eagleton (Murthly, Perthshire) - Trained by his mother, Janet Eagleton, M.B.E., Marcus handcrafts sporrans in a small workshop in back of his family house. The grandson of a cobbler and great-grandson of saddle maker, he makes both very traditional and very contemporary sporrans for customers that include celebrities as well as the King's Own Scottish Borderers, the Queens Pipers at Balmoral and Buckingham Palaces, and the Scots Guards. http://www.scottishsporrans.co.uk

Harris Tweed

• Donald Angus Martin (Isle of Lewis) - A Harris Tweed weaver from the Outer Hebrides, Martin weaves the celebrated fabric at his croft. In addition to weaving, Martin is also a fine Gaelic singer. www.harristweed.org

Tartan

• Lochcarron of Scotland, Waverley Mill (Galashiels, Scottish Borders) - Founded in the 1930s, Lochcarron is a family business owned by Alistair Buchan, the fourth of five generations of weavers. The company is a major producer of both tartan and cashmere for traditional markets as well as trendier firms, such as Vivienne Westwood and Comme des Garcons. Buchan is also the Chair of the Tartan Authority and extremely knowledgeable about the history of tartan and its traditions. Lochcarron employees Ritchie Douglas, Susie Douglas, Alwyn Johnson, and Katie Purdie demonstrate tartan designing, manufacturing, and finishing, and explain the history and culture of The Borders region of southeast Scotland. www.lochcarron.com

Kilt Making

• Keith Kilt School / Robert McBain & Martin Flynn (Keith, Morayshire) --

McBain, founder and the director of the internationally renowned Keith Kilt School trained and served as a tailor in the British Army for 14 years before returning to his home town of Inverurie. Realizing that there was a shortage of well-trained kilt makers, he established a kilt-making school in Keith as a local economic revitalization project. Since 1994, he has trained more than 75 kilt makers, who, in turn, have established the Keith Kilt Guild. McBain is joined by his apprentice Martin Flynn. Kiltschool@moray.org

Knitting

• Ann Eunson (Shetland) - An excellent knitter, Eunson also makes traditional Shetland "white" or "wedding ring" shawls fine enough to be pulled through the womb of a ring. She spins wool from her own sheep to create the yarn.
• May MacCormick (Sanquhar) - One of the few craftspeople who still knit in the black-and-white Sanquhar style, using ancient, complex, and beautiful patterns that are rarely seen outside her remote rural area of Dumfries & Galloway in southwest Scotland
• Anne Sinclair (Fair Isle) -- A master knitter, she learned patterned knitting and other Fair Isle crafts from her mother. Four generations of her family currently are involved in indigenous craft production. Trained as a teacher, she has lectured, and published material on Fair Isle history, folklore, culture, and dialect, and is also an excellent singer. www.fairisle.org.uk

Tapestry Weaving

• Dovecot Tapestry Workshop (Edinburgh) -- Established in 1912 by two of William Morris's master craftsmen, Dovecot has played a major role in 20 ^th century tapestry revival. Master weavers Douglas Grierson, with over 40 years experience, and his former apprentice David Cochrane, with 15 years on the job, employ traditional, time-honored skills to produce tapestries based on contemporary designs - like a magnificent 18-square meter "To a Celtic Spirit" they recently completed for Scottish artist Alan Davie. www.dovecotstudios.co.uk

Silversmithing

• Graham Stewart (Dunblane) -- Considered one of Scotland's leading silversmiths, Stewart is a second-generation silversmith. His work ranges from traditional spoons and quaichs (traditional Scottish bowls) to modern interpretations of such traditional objects as bowls and teapots. His work is often commissioned by and for museums and as presentation pieces. Recently, he was one of a selected few silversmiths commissioned to produce items for the Scottish First Minister's Bute House residence in Edinburgh.

Orkney Chair Making

• Jackie and Marlene Miller (Kirkwall, Orkney) -- There are no trees on Orkney - a key to understanding why this handsome, distinctive type of armchair unique to the northern islands of Scotland is traditionally made of driftwood and braided sea grass ropes. Jackie learned to make these traditional chairs from his family and now makes them full-time at his shop, Scapa Crafts. www.scapacrafts.co.uk

Bagpipes

• Hamish Moore (Dunkeld, Perthshire) -- Moore is an esteemed maker of Highland pipes, Scottish Small pipes, and Border pipes. As a maker and performer, he has been the key figure in the revival of the bellows-blown pipes of Scotland as well as the rediscovery of older regional and pre-military Highland piping traditions. He is joined by his son and apprentice Fin, an excellent piper. www.hamishmoore.musicscotland.co.uk

Clarsach / Scottish Harp

• Yule Harps/Jack Yule - Born into a family of ploughmen and foresters in East Lothian, Yule served a formal apprenticeship as a boat builder at Cockenzie on the Firth of Forth before establishing himself as a joiner and cabinetmaker. He turned his skills to harp making in the early 1980s and his instruments are now played by leading performers of the Celtic harp throughout the world. He recently moved from Silverburn, Midlothian to Colorado.

Golf Club Making

• Heritage Golf of St Andrews (St Andrews, Fife) -- Originally from Yorkshire, Heritage's Managing Director Barry Kerr served a formal apprenticeship to a fourth-generation Scottish club maker and has been making golf clubs for more than 40 years. Heritage specializes in both historic (pre-1930s) and contemporary clubs, as well as historic, hand-sewn/ hand-molded golf balls. Kerr is accompanied by one of Heritage Golf's master craftsmen, Angus McLean. www.heritage-golf.co.uk

Curling Stone Making

• Kays of Scotland (Mauchline, Ayrshire)- The only remaining curling firm in Scotland, and the only one in the world to make curling stones from legendary Ailsa Craig granite, Kays is a small, family-run firm that dates back to the 1850s. Master craftsmen Jimmy and Russell Wyllie demonstrate the care and skill that go into transforming a boulder into a finished curling stone. www.kaysofscotland.co.uk

Basket Making

• Ewan Balfour (Brae, Mainland, Shetland) - Having learned to make kishie baskets (a backpack-type basket) from Lowrie Coupland, Balfour is the last traditional basket maker in Shetland. In addition to being a dedicated artisan, he is also crofter and a former Guiser Jarl at the famous Viking-inspired Up-Helly-A' Festival held in the Shetlands each winter.

Boat Building

• Ian Best, Boat Builder (Fair Isle) - Ian grew up on Fair Isle, the most remote inhabited island in Great Britain. Intrigued by the historical relationship between local Viking-inspired Shetland "yoals" and coastal craft still made in Norway, he served a formal apprenticeship as a wooden boat builder in Norway. His light, clinker-built 23' Ness Yoals, made from Scottish larch, can be rowed, sailed, or motored. www.fairisle.org.uk/ianbestboatbuilder

SCOTTISH HISTORY / HERITAGE AREA

Genealogical Tourism

Jacqueline Hampson , VisitScotland: www.ancestralscotland.com

Joanna Baird, Scottish Archives Network (SCAN): www.scan.org.uk

Susan Corrigall, Scottish National Archives: www.nas.gov.uk

Martin Tyson & Stephen Chatterley, Scottish Register Office: www.gro-scotland.gov.uk

Staff from VisitScotland/ancestralscotland.com, The National Archives of Scotland, The General Register Office for Scotland, and The Scottish Archive Network will help Festival visitors use on-line resources to explore Scottish genealogy and history.

The Court of the Lord Lyon King of Arms (Edinburgh)

*Mrs. Elizabeth Roads, the Lyon Clerk, and the Court's heraldic artist Jenny Phillips explains the Lyon Court, its history, current work, relationship to the Scottish Justice system, and its ceremonial responsibilities. www.heraldry-scotland.co.uk/Lyoncourt.htm

Stone Masonry/Stone Restoration (Culzean, Ayrshire)

*Master stonemason Andrew Bradley heads the National Trust for Scotland's Stonemason Apprenticeship Scheme at Culzean Castle in southwest Scotland. With the help of his apprentice Ross Davidson, he demonstrates the crafts of stone carving, masonry, and lime slaking and explains how they are used in the preservation and restoration of Scotland's built heritage. www.nts.org.uk

Building & Restoration (Edinburgh)

*Alan Simpson, conservator of heraldry, frames, and three-dimensional objects for Historic Scotland will demonstrate and explain the many crafts and skills needed for museum-quality restoration work and discuss his work at Historic Scotland's properties throughout Scotland. www.historic-scotland.gov.uk

OCCUPATIONS / OCCUPATIONAL CULTURE

Offshore Oil Industry

• Oral historians Hugo Manson and Terry Brotherstone of The Oil Lives Research Project at the University of Aberdeen, join offshore oil workers Bob Ballantyne, Alexia Green, and Dennis Krahn to talk about their lives and experiences on the North Sea oilrigs and the impact of the industry on the culture of North East Scotland.

Whisky Making

• William Grant & Sons (Dufftown, Morayshire)

Employees of Glenfiddich and Balvanie distilleries in the Speyside region of northern Scotland demonstrate and explain the art and mysteries of making fine single malt Scottish whisky. Both distilleries are owned by the fifth generation of the founder, William Grant, and many of the workers come from multi-generational whisky-making families. www.grantusa.com

COOKS

• Principal cook: Janet MacRae (Loch Alash) -- Chair of the Scottish Women's Rural Institute, (http://www.swri.org.uk).
• Participating Cooks: Margaret Bennett, Alexia Green, Anne Reid, Sheena Wellington

PRESENTERS

• Maureen Barrie (Edinburgh) - The project manager and educator from the National Museums of Scotland in Edinburgh, Maureen attends the Festival as an interviewer and presenter, and makes occasional appearances as Dr. McWhat?: The Tartan Time Lord. www.nms.ac.uk
• Dr. Valentina Bold (Dumfries) -Bold is a folklorist and Head of the Celtic Studies Department at the University of Glasgow's Creighton Campus in Dumfries. No contact details.
• Fiona Ritchie (Perthshire/Matthews, NC) - As host/producer of "The Thistle & Shamrock®" from National Public Radio, which broadcasts to more than 380 stations weekly across the United States, Ms. Ritchie is one of the best-known Scottish voices on American media. thistle.npr.org
• Dr. Ian Russell (Aberdeen) - The Director of the Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen, Dr. Russell is an eminent folklorist and researcher of North East Scottish culture.