The BIC KIC festival Hot

TEST BIG KIC has evolved from Kilsyth International Carnival, and is set to be the event of the summer with the biggest and best programme yet.

General entry to the main daytime festival attractions at the Colzium from the 13th to the 15th August is £3 a day, or £5 for a three day pass, and free for kids under 12, retaining our reputation as the best value for money family festival in Scotland. The two evening events in the Big Top are separately ticketed - see below.

Comic KICs at the Coachman Hotel on 11th and 12th August, features some of the best Scottish and international comic talent fresh from the Edinburgh Fringe. A special Kids Comedy Club will also take place on 12th August for young comedy fans aged 8-12.

Major festival events will take place in Colzium Estate from 13th-15th August, transforming the site into a leafy playground with a striking 1200 capacity Big Top in place to provide safe haven from the shining sun, rain and midges! With an adventure playground, a great choice of food and ice cream stalls, a large craft fair, a licensed bar and the funfair running all three days, there will be lots to do for everyone, at whatever budget.


13th August

The festival kicks off in style with Teenage KICS dance showcase, allowing teenage dance troupes from around Scotland the chance to compete for prizes and perform on the Big Top stage in front of hundreds of spectators. Special guests Eletricat (left) and The Flying Jalapenos will close the competition with high energy professional dance performances.

Headlining Comic KICS on 13th August is Edinburgh fringe festival headliner and BBC regular, Fred MacAulay, (right) who will treat audiences to his massively popular brand of stand up humour under the canopy of the Big Top in Colzium Estate. Support from Stu Who? will open the show.

Tickets at £10 are now available for
Fred MacAulay at the Kilsyth Comedy Festival
Friday 13th August, 7: 30 pm, Colzium Big Tent

Saturday 14th August

Clan KICS takes place in Colzium Estate on Saturday 14th August as a celebration of Scottish traditions and Celtic culture. Visitors to the estate can take part in the Clanranald Heritage Trail with Roman encampments, medieval tents, weaponry displays, demonstrations and workshops, allowing guests to see, hear and even smell what life was like in Scotland, and perhaps in Colzium Estate back in historical times.

A Ceilidh band competition will take place in the Big Top where spectators are invited to come help judge the bands by voting with their feet. Market stalls, a funfair, hog roasts and other food and drink stalls will also be open throughout the day.
Following Clan KIC is a special concert performance from Latino-Scottish 11 piece Salsa Celtica, whose combination of virtuosity and energy has made them one of the most exciting groups on the world music circuit today. With a line up combining some of Scotland’s and Ireland’s most exiting traditional musicians this is not to be missed. Norrie MacIver from ‘Bodega’ – winners of the Radio 2 Young Traditional Musician of the Year - is to support Salsa Celtica on Saturday night.

Tickets at £12 are now available for
Salsa Celtica and Norrie MacIver at the BIG KIC
7:30 pm, Saturday 14th August 2010

Sunday 15th August

The final day of the BIG KIC festival on 15th August is the popular Kilsyth International Carnival which will provide the perfect end-of-summer celebration on the eve of the return to school. Spanning two outdoor stages and the weather proofed Big Top, Carnival will be a multi-cultural celebration of music, dance and performance with funfair rides, market stalls, food and drink combining to offer the perfect family fun day out. Legendary Scottish singer-songwriter Dougie MacLean (Caledonia) (left) will headline. And festival legends Macumba are set to close the main stage on the 15th August from around 5pm.