University to set campus at Belladrum

The University of the Highlands and Islands will be setting up campus
at the Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival again this year as one of the
event’s main sponsors. Festival-goers are invited to find out more
about their local university by dropping into the UHI marquee in the
Walled Garden where staff and students will be running a range of fun,
interactive activities.

Beauty and complementary therapy students will help revellers to
“glamp-it-up” with free mini-treatments, including massages, nail
painting and festival face art. The students will also create the
make-up for the Ciao Bella fashion show.

Used to muddy conditions, the university’s archaeologists will be in
on the action too. The academics are challenging festival-goers to
identify a mystery find, with a prize for the best interpretation.
Attendees can also bring along their own mystery objects for
identification in an “artefacts roadshow.”

The archaeologists will also be taking part in an interactive debate
where they will be pitted against the university’s historians to argue
who is best. The “If History is Bunk, Archaeology is Junk” event takes
place at 2pm on Friday in the Verb Garden tent.

Students from UHI’s popular and traditional music courses will be
making their Belladrum débuts on the Seedlings Stage over the weekend.
Inverness indie-rockers City in Surveillance perform at 12:15pm on
Friday and Taghta, a traditional five-piece who met while studying in
Benbecula, play at 12:15pm on Saturday.

The university’s psychologists will use tricks to show how drugs and
alcohol can affect people’s mood and reactions and its science,
technology, engineering and maths team will be running fun experiments
and helping festival-goers to make and launch paper aeroplanes.

The university is also offering festival-goers the chance to win two
tickets for Belladrum 2013 through a photo competition. Details can be
found on UHI’s Facebook page from the start of the festival.

Speaking about the university’s presence at the event, UHI marketing
manager Margaret Antonson said: “Belladrum is one of the Highland and
Islands biggest events so it’s a fantastic opportunity for us to
showcase some of the courses and research initiatives that are going on
at our campuses across the region. Our staff and students will give
people an interactive and engaging insight into who we are and what we
offer.”

Festival organiser Joe Gibbs said: “We are thrilled that UHI are back
on board with Bella this year and we urge each and every festival-goer
to visit the UHI Walled Garden next weekend. From free treatments from
beauty therapy students to hands-on, interactive workshops with the ‘UHI
Lab’ and ‘Artefacts Roadshow’, it’s an absolute must visit. It’s also a
great opportunity for the large number of school leavers who attend
Bella to find out more about the fantastic further education
opportunities there are, here on their doorstep with UHI.”

Belladrum takes place on 3 and 4 August at Beauly, near Inverness.
Artists appearing will include Travis, The Wombats, We Are Scientists,
The South, Frightened Rabbit and Beverley Knight. For more information,
visit www.tartanheartfestival.co.uk

// //

// ]]>

Hebrides Today brings you the latest news from the Western Isles