It seems that August is a rare old month for festivals here in Scotland, festivals of everything and anything. Bank Holiday weekend kicked off with Southern Fried in Perth, a celebration mainly of American Roots music, but these days seemingly taking in everything from food to hot rod cars. The gigs at Perth Concert Hall and other venues around the town are pretty darned good – you can read reviews of some of them here, here, and here.

Hot on the heels of Southern Fried comes the Pittenweem Arts Festival. This is another event that seems to have grown over the years. From fairly humble beginnings it now takes over the whole of the picturesque town in the East Neuk of Fife, with resident artists opening their homes and studios for the public to traipse in and out, or renting space in shops, halls, lock-up garages, anywhere. As well as the official venues, a strong ‘Fringe‘ has developed, until it seems as though there is no longer any space left anywhere.

Meanwhile, of course Edinburgh Festival has been getting underway in the Capital, with its own famous Fringe too. By the last couple of weeks of the month the Edinburgh International Book Festival will be full swing in Charlotte Square, with talks, book signings, literary discussions, interviews, and many other events. Bookseeker Agency‘s own Paul Thompson has been at Perth and Pittenweem, and will be at the Book Festival too reviewing some of the events and meeting people, so keep an eye open for him. Check the Contact page on this web site for a photo.

So far the Scottish weather has been fairly kind for festival-goers. Let’s hope that continues.