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Following the success of last year’s Open Gate Festival, the Healthiest Town team are excited to announce the programme of this year's Open Gate Festival. This will run from 29 August to 7 September with lots of open gardens and farms, workshops, talks and events running throughout the week.
Open Gate Festival is part of our 'Eat Real Food' programme, encouraging and enabling people to eat better, grow food or eat local food where possible, and understand the link between food, health and climate. It offers our community the chance to learn and engage with these important issues.
As well as many gardens and farms being open for us to visit, and a host of practical workshops on growing, foraging and producing food, we will have a range of talks, films and events. We will be re-launching the Aberfeldy Manifesto, written in 1974, looking at how we can use this call to action to help us all eat better, and therefore improve health and reduce negative climate impacts. We also will be hosting a community meal to celebrate our amazing community and delicious local produce. We are delighted to have all of our local schools involved in the Open Gate Festival - our young people have so much to teach us.
We are also spreading the Open Gate Festival with events and activities in other areas around Highland Perthshire - Crieff and Comrie, Dunkeld and Birnam, and Pitlochry.
Our Open Gate trail map will be launched soon - but in the meantime see below for our list of events for this year's festival. We hope this whet's your appetite for now, but keep checking back as we add more details.
Calendar of events
Friday, August 29, 2025
Errichel farm tour
See the farm's amazing produce and animals
Free
10am to 12 noon
Errichel, Creiff Rd, Aberfeldy PH15 2EL
To book, contact Becky enquiries@errichel.
co.uk
Saturday, August 30, 2025
No Dig Techniques, Tools and Principles workshop
Saturday, August 30, 2025
Meet the producers at Handam
Find out more about the producers at Aberfeldy's zero waste store
Free. Handam, 6 Bank St, Aberfeldy PH15 2BA
10am to 3pm
No need to book, just pop in during opening hours
Tuesday, September 2, 2025
Errichel farm tour
See the farm's amazing produce and animals
Free
10am to 12 noon
Errichel, Creiff Rd, Aberfeldy PH15 2EL
To book, contact Becky enquiries@errichel.
co.uk
Tuesday, September 2, 2025
The Forager's Diet and Meal
Join Charlotte Flower as she shares her experiences from participating in this year's Wild Diet Biome project, eating a foraged diet for three months
Save the date - booking and venue information coming soon
Wednesday, September 3, 2025
Gardeners' Coffee Time
Come and find out about Healthiest Town's Let's Get Growing groups, which are there to help and support people who would like to grow vegetables but don’t quite know where to start, with experienced leaders and regular get togethers.
Free, no need to book, just turn up. 10.30am, venue to be confirmed
Thursday, September 4, 2025
Fungi Foray
Join mushroom expert Duncan Pepper on a fungi foraging walk
£5
10am to 1pm
Thursday, September 4, 2025
The Field Open Day
A chance to view this community growing project, which produces vegetables, fruit and cut flowers for sale and distribution to the community and volunteers.
11am to 1pm, The Field, Dunkeld. what3words
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Friday, September 5, 2025
Cheese making workshop
Learn how to make your own cheese
10am to 1pm, followed by lunch. Aberfeldy church kitche
Friday, September 5, 2025
Growing oyster mushrooms at home
Join Blackhaugh Farm's mushroom grower Lou Ferns for a practical workshop, with a take home grow kit
2pm to 4pm. Biodynamic Garden, Camserney PH15 2JG
£15. Save the date - booking information coming soon
Friday, August 29, 2025
Film: The Golden Spurtle
The Highlands community of Carrbridge comes alive each year for the porridge cooking competition. Director Constantine Costi captures this competition with warmth, respect and lashings of humour
7pm, Birks Cinema, Dunkeld St, Aberfeldy PH15 2DA
Save the date - booking details to be released soon
Saturday, August 30, 2025
Eat Garden Weeds workshop,
£15
10.30am to 12.30pm
Blackhaugh Farm, Spittalfield PH1 4JZ
Save the date, booking details coming soon
Saturday, August 30, 2025
Little Trochry open day, Dunkeld
Tours of the market garden, and refreshments
Free. Little Trochry Farm
Dunkeld, PH8 0DX
Open 10am to 3pm, tours 10.30am and 1.30pm
Tuesday, September 2, 2025
Compost making workshop
A practical workshop with soil scientist Dr Audrey Litterick
£10
9.30am to 3pm
Tombreck Farm, Lawers PH15 2PB
Tuesday, September 2, 2025
Too Good To Waste
Join Climate Cafe Aberfeldy to join the discussion about food waste and what we all can do to help prevent it.
Free to attend, no need to book.
Takes place at Handam,
6 Bank Street Aberfeldy
PH15 2BA, time to be confirmed
Wednesday, September 3, 2025
All About Cheese
Cheese demo and
tapas with locally sourced ingredients
Birks Cinema, Dunkeld St, Aberfeldy PH15 2DA
Save the date - booking and details to be released soon
Thursday, September 4, 2025
Growing food and growing a food business
The story of Fife organic farm, shop and cafe Pillars of Hercules, with Bruce Bennet
3pm to 4.30pm, venue to be confirmed
Thursday, September 4, 2025
Aberfeldy Manifesto relaunch
Come and find out why Dr Yellowlees' original food health and security document from 1974 is still relevant, and how you can join our call to action for better food for people and planet
7.30pm, Aberfeldy Town Hall
Friday, September 5, 2025
Fungai Foray
Join mushroom expert Lilla Valler on a fungi foraging walk
£5
2pm to 4pm
Friday, September 5, 2025
Film and talk: Six Inches of Soil
12A. The inspiring story of young British farmers transforming the way they produce food - to heal the soil, improve our health, and provide for local communities
Doors open 7pm, film 7.30pm. Strathearn Arts, 6 Comrie Street, Crieff PH7 4AX
Below are images from last year's festival showing some of the fun we got up to: