A Taste for Events - EventScotland

TASTEFUL EVENTSORKNEY INTERNATIONALSCIENCE FESTIVALOrkney International ScienceFestival first took place in1991, making it the world’ssecond science festival. The Festivalis held in early September – thesame time as Scottish Food andDrink Fortnight. Therefore, therewas an obvious opportunity to linkup with Orkney’s many high qualityproducers to provide festival visitorswith unique flavours of the islands.Links with local producers havedeveloped over the years andScotland Food & Drink haveprovided active support to enhancethe food and drink elements of theFestival for the 3,500 attendees.Food plays an important role fromthe very outset of the Festival asthe official opening incorporatesan Islands Produce Buffet.Thereafter, a daily One O’ClockToast celebrates an Orcadianscience pioneer with an Orkneyfare lunch. Other events include anOld Orkney Banquet that includesdelicacies like Arctic char, NorthRonaldsay mutton and Orkneyfudge cheesecake; a “Bere, Beerand Boardhouse” bus tour thatvisits a local mill and brewery; anda tour of Highland Park – the mostnortherly distillery in Scotland.Local hotels and restaurants offerOrkney fare throughout the weekof the Festival to ensure that visitorshave both their minds and tastebuds fully stimulated.Orkney International ScienceFestival demonstrates howquality local food and drink cancomplement and enhance an eventthat, at first glance, has little to dowith eating and drinking. However,imaginative programming andeffective partnership working hasmade local produce a valuable partof the Festival experience. Log onto www.oisf.org for full details.19