2025 Events in Inverness & Scottish Highlands
Highland Games - Festivals - Music

Pipe band at Piping Inverness, Scotland
Photo © The Internet Guide to Scotland

Live music:
These are some of the most popular local venues:

Pubs and bars for traditional Scottish Music include Hootananny / Mad Hatters (Church Street) and the The Gellions (Bridge Street). An Seomar and SOUNDBAR are new bars including Scottish music (Church Street). There's often live music atJohnny Foxes (Bank Street, overlooking the river), Encore Une Fois (in Young Street just over the main bridge), the Market Bar (Church Street) and The Tooth & Claw (tucked away in Baron Taylor's Street).
There's also Whisky Gigs at The Malt Room on Saturdays nights once a month. The Highland Malt Whisky Experience at Macgregors (end of Academy Street) combines whisky tasting, history, story, legend and music of the Scottish Highlands (weekday evenings from April to October).
The Victorian Market in the city centre often has live music at weekends in the newly refurbished Food and Drink Hall.

Cinema and Theatre
Eden Court Theatre and Cinema in Inverness by the River Ness.
Vue (cinema multiplex a couple of miles outside the city centre).

For art events, The Castle Gallery at 43 Castle Street (tel: 01463 729512) has exhibitions of original contemporary fine and applied art.

Other regular events:

The Inverness Farmers Market is held on the first Saturday of each month (except January), with stalls of local produce (meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, cheese, homebaking) in the Eastgate pedestrian area of Inverness city centre.
In The City Markets (arts, crafts, food) run on the first Saturday of each month from May to December (excluding July) downstairs in Eastgate Shopping Centre (Falcon Square entrance) from 9am until 5pm.
The Highland Food & Drink Trail has a variety of street food vendors on the riverside near the Cathedral (usually Wednesday - Sunday during the summer, weekends in winter).
In Drumnadrochit, there's a regular community craft Market on the Green from March - September.

Inverness Cathedral hosts a programme of varied musical events throughout the year and free lunchtime organ concerts on Fridays in the summer.
The Inverness Royal British Legion Pipe Band usually perform in Inverness city centre every Tuesday night at 7pm from mid June to end August at the bottom of the Market Brae Steps with a performance by local Highland dancers.

Events in 2025:

Due to open in the latter half of 2025, the Inverness Castle Experience will be a new visitor attraction with interactive exhibitions, Ceilidh Rooms, cafe, restaurant, viewing platform, garden, etc.

10 - 11 January: Strathpuffer 24-hour Mountain Bike Endurance Event in Strathpeffer
end February - March TBC: Inverness and Loch Ness Food and Drink Fortnight with lots of events and offers
14 February: Snowman Rally - starting from the Black Isle Showground with the stages around the Black Isle and Glenurquhart plus a mid-day visit to Dingwall High Street
6 - 8 March and 13 - 15 March: Inverness Music Festival - local amateur competitions at Inverness Methodist Church
8 March: Inverness Half Marathon and 5K
14 March: Taste of the Highlands at Eden Court with food & drink stalls, talks and demos from 10am - 3pm. Tickets required. Children free admission.
21 March: annual Inverness Fiddlers' Rally at Eden Court
28 March: Inverness Blues Festival at the Northern Meeting Park
tbc 4 - 5 April: Easter Egg Hunt around Inverness city centre plus Easter activities for kids in the Victorian Market
tbc 18 April: Annual Commemoration Service at Culloden Battlefield at 10.30am (280th anniversary of the battle)
26 April: Etape Loch Ness epic cycle race
1 - 3 May: Crime & Thriller Festival at Cromarty on the Black Isle
2 - 3 May: Ultra X ultra marathons around Loch Ness (50km & 100km races)
8 - 10 May: Taste of Nairn celebrating local food and drink
tbc mid May: Exclusively Highlands Art and Craft market at Wildwoodz near Munlochy (10 miles north of Inverness)
15 - 16 May: Beauly Buzz music festival at the Beauly Holiday Park
tbc 16 May: Inverness Classic Vehicle Show with around 150 classic and vintage vehicles on display in the city centre - plus music & entertainment
tbc 17 May: Inverness Performance Car Show with up to 1000 cars on display at Dores
tbc late May: Vintage Day with classic / vintage cars, buses, tractors and more at the Highland Folk Museum in Newtonmore
tbc late May - early June: Inverness Festival of Walking and Wheeling
30 May: The Gathering trad music festival in Inverness at the Northern Meeting Park
tbc 30 May: Ardersier Gala Classic Car Show and Parade
31 May: Race for Life in Inverness
6 June: Outlander Day at the Highland Folk Museum in Newtonmore
6 - 7 June: Make it Beauly - local arts & crafts plus gin and whisky producers at Beauly Holiday Park
tbc early June: The Loch Ness Classic and Vintage Car Tour starting and finishing in Inverness
tbc mid June: Woodzstock music festival on the Black Isle
tbc June: Inverness Provincial Mod - annual Gaelic competitions at Eden Court Theatre
26 June: Bluesy Beauly music festival at the Beauly Holiday Park
27 June: Beauly and Western music festival at the Beauly Holiday Park
tbc 27 June: Armed Forces Day Parade led by the Inverness Royal British Legion Scotland Band
early July - late August: Under Canvas - live music and DJ sets on the lawn at Eden Court Theatre. This is a family-friendly event in stretch tents with a bar serving pizzas, local beers, gins, whisky, etc.
tbc 5 July: Nairn Triathlon
11 July: Inverness Highland Games at Bught Park
30 July - 1 August: Belladrum - Tartan Heart Festival huge music festival on the Belladrum Estate, near Beauly.
1 August: Nairn Show - livestock exhibitions, craft fair, food stalls and amusements.
6 August: Black Isle Show at the Showground, Muir of Ord. This is the largest agricultural show in the North of Scotland. It attracts over 2,000 cattle, horse and sheep entries, more than 300 trade stands and over 25,000 visitors to the show each year. There is plenty to see and do, craft fair, food fair, 'On the Farm' exhibition for the kids, agricultural stands, vintage rally and sheep shearing.
7 - 8 August: Moy Country Fair (between Aviemore and Inverness).
8 August: Strathpeffer Highland Gathering in the grounds of Castle Leod.
tbc early August: Celebration of the Centuries at Fort George near Inverness - re-enactment event depicting over 2000 years of Scottish history
14 August: The Ibiza Orchestra Experience - concert in the Northern Meeting Park, Inverness
15 August: Sausage and Cider festival in the Northern Meeting Park, Inverness. 30 different ciders and 20 sausage flavours, plus live music, stalls, silent disco, axe throwing, eating competition, drum & circus workshop.
15 August: Nairn Highland Games
21 August: Been 'n' Bands 'n' Beauly music festival at the Beauly Holiday Park
tbc 22 August: Truckness at the Black Isle Showground, Muir Of Ord.
22 August: Glenurquhart Highland Gathering & Games at Drumnadrochit, Loch Ness
29 August - 6 September: Nairn Book & Arts Festival
tbc early - mid September: Blas Festival ceilidhs and concerts across the Highlands.
tbc early September: Northern Star Country Music Festival at the Northern Meeting Park in Inverness
tbc early September: Kirking of the Council - civic procession from Inverness Town House to Ness Bank Church
3 - 4 September: Northern Meeting Piping Competition at Eden Court
tbc mid September: Doors Open Days around Inverness
tbc September: Wheels of Nairn - classic and modern vehicle show
27 September: Loch Ness Marathon plus 5K and 10K River Ness fun runs.
tbc end September: Highland Archaeology Festival
tbc early October: NessBookFest is the Inverness book festival
tbc 3 October: World Porridge Making Championship at Carrbridge
tbc mid to late October: Loch and Land Festival - outdoor activities, taster sessions and more at this new local festival
tbc late October: Exclusively Highlands Autumn Craft market and food stalls at Wildwoodz near Munlochy (10 miles north of Inverness)
November: from Thursday to Sunday, Brodie Illuminated is when The National Trust for Scotland illuminates the grounds around Brodie Castle near Forres
tbc 5 November: Bonfire night and fireworks at Bught Park, Inverness (Bonfire lit at 6pm and fireworks display around 7pm)
tbc early-mid November: Inverness Film Festival at Eden Court Theatre
21 November: World Shortbread Championships at Inverness Leisure - new for 2026!
tbc mid November: Exclusively Highlands Christmas craft & food fair at Eden Court Theatre in Inverness
tbc late November: Christmas Lights switch-on in Falcon Square, Inverness
tbc late November: Exclusively Highlands Christmas craft & food fair at Eden Court Theatre in Inverness
tbc mid December: Christmas Market in the grounds of Cawdor Castle
early December to early January: Pantomime at Eden Court.
tbc end December: Hogmanay ceilidhs at Eden Court Theatre with the Black Isle Ceilidh Band