The Art Of The Party

Lose yourself in music, murals and magic at Kelburn Castle

- DANIELLA THEIS

THAT festivals can take many different forms is something we are very lucky to experience in Scotland and its thriving events scene. We have traditional summertime big hitters like TRNSMT coming to Glasgow from July 11-13, yet the smaller grassroots festival scene is thriving, too, and from July 3-7 one of its longest-standing events is celebrating a big anniversary.

For 15 years, the Kelburn Garden Party has become known not for bringing the current top 100 chart-topping musicians to its base at Kelburn Estate, near Largs. Instead, what has made the event a popular staple in Scotland's events line-up is the atmosphere – being both family-friendly and beloved by party-dwellers alike – and the collaboration it enables between artists from Scotland and the world.

“It is a music and arts festival,” says Chris Knight, who co-founded the event with Dave Boyle, the Viscount of Kelburn. “Being in such a beautiful natural spot as well, what you have is this combination of music, art and nature, and that’s really what it is about.