Gathering Festival selects Highland mental health charity Mikeysline as official partner; Peatbog Faeries, Wolfstone, Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Torridon and Trail West on line-up with more to be added
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A grassroots mental health charity in the Highlands has been chosen as the official charity partner of a festival taking place later this year.
The Gathering Festival, to be held at the Northern Meeting Park in Inverness on Saturday September 4, is linking up with Mikeysline.
The event will feature traditional Scottish music, culture, food and drink.
The line-up includes Peatbog Faeries, Wolfstone, Red Hot Chilli Pipers, Torridon, Trail West and The City of Inverness Pipe Band.
More artists, entertainment and food and drink partners will be announced in the coming weeks.
Customers buying tickets for The Gathering will be able to make an optional donation of £1 or more at the time of booking via the festival’s official ticketing site www.skiddle.com.
Donna Smith, chairwoman of Mikeysline, said the charity was honoured and grateful The Gathering had selected Mikeysline as its charity for 2021.
"Since Mikeysline was formed in 2015, we have seen growing numbers of people using both our text services and drop-in centre in Inverness, confirming to us the importance of these peer support services in providing an avenue for those suffering from mental health difficulties to reach out and speak about how they are feeling," she said.
"Over the past year, we have started to expand our services further, providing a dedicated service for young people and we hope to increase our work with schools who are finding themselves dealing with increasing numbers of young people suffering mental health difficulties.
"We also have ambition to expand our face to face service to locations out with Inverness, providing that same support to those in more rural locations.
"All money raised will go towards helping us achieve these aims with support needed now more than ever."
Claire Clark, of The Gathering, said: "The ongoing pandemic has been an extremely difficult time for many and has put a huge strain on the mental health of everyone.
"We are delighted to be able to partner with this incredible local charity which has been carrying out amazing work in supporting people in the Highlands.
"Music and the arts at large are so important in people’s lives and never more so during this pandemic, with many turning to music, films, tv, and books for comfort, escapism, and a sense of wellbeing.
"We hope that The Gathering can play a small part in lifting the spirits of our audience as we start to make our way out of the challenging last year."
Related story: Mental health support charity Mikeysline reveals reopening plans
