For more than 20 years, the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival has annually celebrated the maritime heritage of northeastern Scotland. Although the focus is on traditional wooden boats, the festival has several land activities for visitors, including cultural displays, local food and beverages and traditional crafts. There's even a sports component for travelers who like to stay fit when they go abroad.
The Scottish Traditional Boat Festival is located in Portsoy, Scotland, and usually takes place during a weekend in late June. Portsoy is on the northeastern coast of Scotland, approximately four hours north of Glasgow by car. The festival lasts three days, and the opening and closing times vary each year, although festivities usually carry on into the evening.
The festival's main focus is Scotland's maritime culture, so you'll find many boating-related events. The events vary each year, but traditional boats always gather in the harbor, and each year features informal sailing expos and races. The 2013 festival featured a coastal rowing race in which various Scottish communities came together to build small rowing vessels as cheaply as possible and sent crews to the festival to race as onlookers cheered. Each year, festival organizers arrange a large lineup of musical acts -- mostly traditional Scottish groups. After you listen to music, check out the various craft booths. The craftspeople are locals who produce a variety of goods, including small wooden boats. Among the booths, you'll find vendors selling traditional foods and drinks such as porridge and kippers.
Scotland's official tourism organization, Visit Scotland, lists the Salmon Bothy as a four-star attraction. Restored and acquired by the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival in 2008, the Salmon Bothy is a museum and research facility that partners with the boat festival each year to provide themed exhibits. During the festival, exhibits range from local art or photography to Scottish folk music presentations. The facility gains its name from the salmon fishing industry, on which many of its exhibits center. Many artifacts from Portsoy's history are available for viewing, and the center features both physical and online shops.
The Aberdeenshire Sport and Leisure Team partners with the festival to provide the Sports Village at Loch Soy, a wide array of sports- and fitness-related activities, including a cycling roadshow that displays all sorts of pedaled vehicles. Soccer, rugby and hockey professionals are on hand to coach you on your game. A sailing club makes an appearance to allow visitors to try sailing a dinghy. The largest sporting event at the festival is the 10K road run and 2K fun run. You can enter either race up until the day of the festival, and winners get trophies.
