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Sara Bain

Small Halls big winners

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Thanks to everyone who bought tickets for the big raffle on Saturday night and to our wonderful prize donors the Sligachan Hotel, Harris Gin, Edinbane Pottery, SkyeSkyns, Torabhaig Distillery, South Skye Sea Kayak, Away from the Ordinary, Amanda Thomson, Elizabeth Reeder, Malin Makes Music, and our Small Halls musicians.

A big shout out to Skye Weavers whose fabulous prize was not called out on the evening. Our fault. We picked a lucky winner from the ticket bucket after the concert, however, and a beautiful woollen throw will be heading their way.

Here are the winning tickets:

AllenL4NYKWTrio of Books
Ashton JonesUF7VEKSmall Halls musicians CDs
DavisB3VHMPHarris Gin gift hamper
ScattergoodVWYNYQEdinbane Pottery Mug
AlexanderRNE3RLSkye Weavers throw
PhillipsH8WGJLSouth Skye Sea kayaking taster sessions
LoganFB7UGDSkyeSkyns Mimosa skin
DavisB3VHMPSligachan Hotel 1 x night B&B for 2
MacAskillAHRBHVTorabhaig Distillery hamper
GravesGHP8BAAway from the Ordinary virtual Whisky Tasting

Prizes will be sent by post directly from the prize donors to the winners.

Small Halls Big Raffle

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GET YOUR RAFFLE TICKETS HERE

No self-respecting Highland cèilidh would go ahead without a raffle.

Good music, good craic and a chance to win a good prize is all part of great evening’s entertainment.

SEALL is raising funds for its community outreach programme SEALL@Home which delivers performing arts sessions, concerts and workshops to the vulnerable and isolated members of our communities. More information from our Just Giving page HERE.

We will be holding a raffle with some great prizes during the popular Small Halls Festival Big Cèilidh which will be live-streamed online on Saturday 8 November 2020 at 10pm.

The Big Cèilidh takes the form of a concert by nine of Scotland’s best traditional musicians and is part of the Blas Festival and St Andrew’s Fair Saturday, celebrating Scotland’s National Day. More information about the Big Cèilidh and concert tickets, from HERE.

Host for the evening is popular BBC Scotland Take the Floor presenter Gary Innes who will draw the raffle half way through the concert, during the interval at approximately 11pm.

We have 10 lovely prizes ready to be posted out to the lucky winners after they are announced.

The prizes

Gin gift hamper from the Isle of Harris Distillery

The specially curated gift set from the Isle of Harris Distillery combines the elements for enjoying their award-winning Isle of Harris Gin in good company.

A beautiful bottle of Isle of Harris Gin is accompanied by two hand-crafted, matching gin glasses to ensure the perfect pour is made in style.

Presented together within a bespoke gift box, photographic print, and accompanied by suggested serves, this is the ideal way to share our island spirit with friends and loved ones.

Contains on bottle of the Isle of Harris Gin; two Harris Gin Glasses and box; photographic print.

Whisky-themed gift hamper from Torabhaig Distillery

All at Torabhaig Distillery on the Isle of Skye wish the Festival of Small Halls great success in 2020 and are giving away a goody-bag of gifts from the whisky shop.

The 19th century farmstead at Torabhaig in Sleat in the south of Skye is the location of this small, traditional distillery.  When the Visitor Centre re-opens next year, you will be able to enjoy a guided tour of the distillery and visit the café and shop in the courtyard.   

Torabhaig Distillery is set to release its first Single Malt Scotch Whisky which will be called Torabhaig Legacy Series 2017 in February next year.   

Mimosa skin from SkyeSkyns, Waternish

This beautiful hand-tanned skin from SkyeSkyns in Waternish is one of their best sheepskins to date.

The tannery’s Mimosa Collection are crafted from pure Scottish sheepskins, with beautiful soft wool and incredibly soft leather.

Established in 1983, Skyeskyns is the sole remaining commercial woolskin tannery in Scotland. 

Created and developed by Clive and Lydia Hartwell the venture was a dream nurtured for twenty years, ever since Clive first set eyes on the beautiful coastal village of Waternish.

Woollen throw from Skye Weavers, Glendale

A unique and beautiful woollen throw made from 100% Scottish wool and woven on the isle of Skye by Skye Weavers on the Waternish Peninsula.

This throw is made from local wool combining natural greys with a dash of yellow. The yellow was custom dyed for the company and is inspired by a lichen found frequently on Skye’s rocky shores: Xanthoria parietina.

Skye Weavers are a small weaving and sewing business on Skye. On their bicycle pedal-powered loom, they weave a variety of woollen products including scarves, blankets, throws and wraps and tweed.

The team of dedicated cyclists, weavers, warpers, cone winders, designers, menders, seamstresses and fixing-everythingers are Roger, Andrea, Paul, Angie and Alexander.

Ebb and Flow design mug by Edinbane Pottery

A wonderful hand-crafted mug from the talented makers of Edinbane Pottery.

Specialising in woodfired and salt-glazed pottery, Edinbane Pottery was set up by Stuart Whatley in 1971 and the pottery is a popular visitor attraction on Skye.

Stuart has regularly employed a small number of potters from the world over. Each person brings their own contribution, new ideas, experience and even a sense of humour!

All pottery is handmade and individually decorated.

This prize is for a beautiful Ebb and Flow 4″ mug. The design echoes the Island’s deep pools, river flows, rolling landscapes and night skies.

Bed and breakfast for two at the Sligachan Hotel

The dramatic and inspiring setting enjoyed by The Sligachan Hotel has been admired by many for generations. Nestled amongst the Red and Black Cuillins, with the sparkling waters of Loch Sligachan to its front, the hotel has served mountaineers, walkers and lovers of the wild Highland scenery since 1830. Not only a great spot for climbers, the Hotel is located at an important crossroads in the centre of the Island, offering a great opportunity to maximise sightseeing on Skye.

Enjoy the warm welcome, comfortable rooms, relaxing atmosphere and some of the best views on the Island during a one night’s bed and breakfast for two. This stay is for a date of your choice (subject to availability) during 2021.

Kayak taster sessions with South Skye Sea Kayak, Sleat

Discover Skye away from the crowds, journey along stunning coastlines, experience a new perspective and different views of our famous island. Enjoy a picnic on a remote beach, see wildlife and interesting coastlines, all with an experienced guide.

Develop your kayaking skills whether you are a complete beginner or an experienced kayaker, South Skye Sea Kayak offer anything from flat water skills to tide race and rough water paddling.

This wonderful prize is for two exciting half-day kayak taster sessions.

A virtual whisky tasting with Away from the Ordinary

Away from the Ordinary are offering the opportunity to win a place at a luxury digital whisky tasting.

The winner will choose from a number of public Away from the Ordinary virtual tastings, which will be held throughout 2021.  They will receive five carefully selected whisky miniatures, and will attend a tasting of their choice, in the comfort of their home.  

Tastings are led by whisky aficionado Aeneas O’Hara, who talks participants through provenance, tastings notes and the narrative of each malt.  Tastings tend to be conversational, informal but informed, and a lot of fun.

CD stack of Small Halls musicians’ albums

Enjoy the outstanding music of some of Scotland’s greatest traditional artists who just happen to be playing at Small Halls this year.

Inge Thomson, Hamish Napier, Su-a Lee, Angus MacKenzie, Megan Henderson, Ewan Robertson, Seàn Gray, Rachel Newton and Lauren MacColl all feature in this amazing 11-CD bundle of albums.

A trio of books with a Scottish theme

Fiction, fauna and fiddles feature in our fabulous three-book give-away.

An Archive of Happiness by Elizabeth Reeder

A Scots Dictionary of Nature by Amanda Thomson

Malin Makes Music Tune Book

GET YOUR RAFFLE TICKETS HERE

Winners will be announced in the raffle draw on the evening of 28 November and be notified by email or post. upon receipt of a valid address, prizes will be posted, including internationally, to winners during the week beginning Monday 30 November 2020.

Please make sure you have entered your name, address and contact email or telephone number on ticket purchase. Winners will be chosen from a random draw at the Small Halls Big Cèilidh online livestream event on 28 November 2020 during the interval at around 11pm. Winners will be called by their ticket number and surname and notified via email.

Please note: there may be restrictions imposed on alcohol shipments to some countries. If you are a winner of one of our prizes containing alcohol and your country has a ban on imports, then an alternative prize will be offered to the same or similar value.

Understanding your tickets

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Changing from a live event to an online stream requires a few adjustments for events managers and audiences.

This year, Small Halls is being supported by the Blas Festival who are also managing our box office. We are using The Ticket Fairy online ticketing system.

After you have bought your tickets, confirmation will come through in an email with information on it that looks something like this:

Your ticket explained

Your ticket will say it is for the Blas Festival with that festival’s event dates. Don’t worry about this, it’s just the way the box office works.

If you have bought multiple tickets for yourself, your link will give you access to the concert(s) you have bought. Your link will take you to the Ticket Fairy online streaming platform where you can choose which concert you wish to watch in the Watch the Stream option button. Please see Watch the Stream from Your Ticket Fairy Account below.

The illustration above shows two stream links on the ticket. This is because the customer has bought two tickets for different people. Each link is unique to each customer and may be viewed on any one device at a time. If you wish to swap devices, simply log out of your Ticket Fairy account (see below) on one device and log in to the other.

When you are ready to watch the stream, ie at the doors open time of the concert, simply click on your link from your device.

Log into your Ticket Fairy account

If this is your first time watching a show on Ticket Fairy, the screen will ask you to login. All that is required is your name, email address and a password so that the unique streaming code can be allocated to you and you can watch the concerts from your page.

Once you have logged in, press play and enjoy the concert.

Watch the stream from your Ticket Fairy account

If you are not using your ticket link or have bought multiple festival tickets and don’t know which link belongs to which concert, you may access your concerts from the Ticket Fairy website by following these steps:

If you haven’t already done so, log into your Ticket Fairy account and, in the search section, type in Blas or SEALL which will take you to your ticket links. Click on the Watch the Stream button or select the concert from the dropdown menu if you have multiple tickets (see illustration below). If you are watching for the first, time. Follow the instructions to log into your Ticket Fairy account above.

PLEASE NOTE: We are streaming from the Hebrides and you may experience occasional drop-offs during your stream. This may also happen if you are watching from a part of the world with a limited or slow broadband service or your wi-fi connectivity may be poor. If your video stops or the screen freezes, please refresh the page (F5 or Right Click and Reload) and press play again.

For advice on how to get the best from your online concert experience, click HERE

New SEALL chair vacancy

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Our current chair, Rosie MacDonald, is stepping down after six years of wonderful service and we need a person of creativity, experience and vision to make a strong and meaningful contribution to the future of performing arts on Skye and Raasay.

SEALL usually delivers over 100 performance arts events to venues across the Islands of Skye and Raasay through a year-round programme of concerts, workshops and sessions; two festivals; and two outreach programmes reaching young people and the vulnerable members of our communities.

This is a voluntary position but essential expenses will be reimbursed.

Deadline for applications, which should be sent to Marie Lewis, Creative Director, via email (marie@seall.co.uk) with a covering letter and CV attached, is Monday 30 November at 5pm.

ABOUT SEALL

SEALL is a well-established and trusted performing arts promotion charity based on Skye. For almost 30 years, we have delivered world-class performances to our remote rural communities on, and visitors to, Skye and Raasay through a year-round programme; the Skye Festival (Fèis an Eilein) in the summer; and the Small Halls Festival in November. Our community outreach programme reaches young people and the more vulnerable members of our communities, fostering wellbeing, diversity and inclusion.

SEALL is recognised by the Scottish Government as one of Scotland’s leading rural arts promoters and in 2019 we won the prestigious MG Alba Scottish Traditional Music Award for Best Community Project for our Small Halls Festival.

THE POST

The chair has a strategic role to play in representing the direction, strategy, vision and purpose of SEALL. She or he will ensure that the board functions properly, that there is full participation at meetings, all relevant matters are discussed and that effective decisions are made and carried out by the whole Board and staff.

Ensure the Board functions properly

  • To plan and run meetings in accordance with the governing document
  • To ensure matters are dealt with in an orderly, efficient manner
  • To bring impartiality and objectivity to meetings and decision making
  • To facilitate change and address conflict within the Board
  • To review governance performance and skills
  • To plan for recruitment and renewal of the Board

Ensure the organisation is managed effectively

  • To liaise with the creative director to keep an overview of the organisation’s affairs
  • To co-ordinate the Board to ensure responsibilities for particular aspects of management eg personnel, finance, good governance, are understood and met and specialist expertise is employed as required
  • To facilitate change and address conflict within the organisation, liaising with the creative director to achieve this
  • To promote and champion equality, diversity and good environmental practice in all SEALL’s work
  • To ensure the strategies and policies agreed by the SEALL board are met by staff, volunteers and freelance workers
  • To identify potential risks and opportunities facing SEALL and the wider performing arts industry of Scotland
  • To ensure the highest standards of integrity, probity and governance throughout SEALL are understood and met

Provide support and supervision to staff

  • To directly line manage the creative director
  • To sit on appointment and other panels as appropriate

Represent the organisation

  • To communicate effectively the vision and purpose of SEALL
  • To network with comparable organisations maintaining a high profile for SEALL
  • To advocate for and represent SEALL at external meetings and events
  • To be aware of current issues that might affect SEALL
  • To represent the aims and policies of SEALL to the outside world

Qualities and skills required
Arts

  • Experience of working or volunteering within the Arts sector in Scotland
  • Knowledge of the operating environment for charities and other not for profit organisations in Scotland
  • An understanding of the communities and the geography of the Highlands
  • An understanding of the wider performing arts industry in Scotland
  • An understanding of the culture, people and processes of SEALL

Organisational management and governance

  • Understanding the role and responsibilities of a chair
  • Understanding of the roles/responsibilities of a charity board
  • Good leadership skills
  • Good communication and interpersonal skills
  • Impartiality, fairness and the ability to respect confidences
  • Ability to ensure decisions are taken and followed up
  • Experience of organisational and people management

Please send your application by email, attaching a covering letter and CV, to Marie Lewis, Creative Director, SEALL: marie@seall.co.uk by Monday 30 November at 5pm.

Keep Rural Arts Live: Spotlight Sessions

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Have your say in who’s coming to Skye stages next year

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THIS EVENT ONLINE LIVE NOW

As we plan for a safe future for performing arts on Skye, we are inviting our friends and supporters to have a say in what performances they would like to see in our venues next year.

To this end, those hard-working people at the Touring Network are showcasing a series of two Spotlight Sessions – specially curated nights featuring snippets of professional performances which could be touring Skye next year. This online event is free.

This is an opportunity for you, our audiences, to take a look at a small selection of great quality performances on offer for 2021 and have your say in who you would like to see again.

The event will be hosted by Falkirk playwright, novelist, performer and bletherer Alan Bissett, so expect an evening of joyous interaction as well as an introduction to six amazing performances.

These online events take place on Facebook (www.facebook.com/sealleventsskye).

CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO SIGN UP

SESSION 1 Thursday 20 August 8pm-9.30pm

https://www.facebook.com/events/762827061186154

The Sea and Me with Nicolette MacLeod: A personal and moving show about the sea

Makeup by NoLogo Productions: Step into the Green Room with Lady Christina

Men with Coconuts: an award-winning improvisational comedy troupe based in Edinburgh

SESSION 2 Thursday 27 August 8pm-9.30pm

https://www.facebook.com/events/314878609710664

Suffering from Scottishness with Kevin P Gilday: An immersive theatrical experience  confronting the unique absurdity of Scottish identity

Grandmothers Grimm by Some Kind of Theatre: our favourite fairy tales like you’ve never heard them before

Horse: an iconic and utterly unique singer songwriter

We encourage lots of online banter before, during and after the performances.

DON’T DO FACEBOOK? That’s fine. We will post the link up on our website on the night. You won’t be able to interact, but you will be able to watch all three performances. Check back here at 8pm on Thursday.

We look forward to welcoming you.

PS The Touring Network (the body that supports, represents and connects independent promoters and performers in the north of Scotland) have set up a crowdfunder to Keep Rural Arts Alive and continue to bring high quality performance to the Highlands when it is safe to do so, of course. More information from HERE. 

SNH splashes out on Skye Festival

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We are delighted to announce that Skye’s leading summer festival is one of 24 projects to receive a share in almost £150,000 from Scotland’s nature agency.

Through its Plunge In! Coasts and Waters Community Fund, and to celebrate Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has invested £4,000 towards the costs of delivering the Féis an Eilein — the Skye Festival in 2021.

All being well, the festival returns next year to public spaces around the Isles of Skye and Raasay and will showcase the islands’ distinctive contribution to Scotland’s natural and cultural heritage through celebration, performance and conversation.

The new-look 10-day summer festival takes place between 2 and 11 July and will deliver a spectacular programme of world-class performances in music, theatre, dance, literature and a few very big surprises.

Our 2021 summer event will highlight the distinctiveness of Scotland’s coasts and waters while raising awareness of their fragility and the need to protect them for future generations.

EVENT: On Wednesday, 8 July, celebrated Scottish traditional musician Ingrid Henderson will present a virtual taster on Facebook of Message in a Bottle, a musical composition inspired by the movements of ocean currents and commissioned by SNH for the themed year. Ingrid will be joined in conversation for this free event by SNH’s Head of Marine Ecosystems Katie Gillham to talk about the inspiration behind her work and the links between traditional music, Gaelic language and Scotland’s marine environment.

Message in a Bottle also features musicians Anna Massie, Megan Henderson and Conal McDonagh with visuals from Somhairle MacDonald and animation from Cat Bruce.

The full commission will be performed at next year’s Fèis an Eilein.