Scotland's environmental festival. Back for its 5th year. Workshops, exhibitions, debates, world & and folk music, culture, children's activities, local food village, camping.

Zones this year are:
Head Zone for debates, talks and poetry
Body and Soul for alternative therapies
One Planet Food Village
Children's Activities
Wild about Wood
Wild about Craft
Exhibitions
Market Stalls
oh and of course music - so far lined up include Aberfeldy, King Creosote, FOUND, Woodenbox and a Fistful of Fivers, Joe Acheson Quartet, Second Hand Marching Band, Nuala Kennedy and Homecoming String Band. We'll have more world bands this year too including Brazil!Brazil, Grassroots Zimbabwe and the Zawose family from Tanzania (http://www.zawose.com/). Just announced is Rosanne Cash - daughter of Johnny of course - who is returning to her ancestral routes in Falkland.

Debates and talks - themes include: Moving with Africa, the future of food and community resilience. Speakers and workshops to include: Pat Kane, Lesley Riddoch (Islands of Inspiration), Richard Dixon (WWF Scotland), Alastair McIntosh (author of Soil and Soul) Teresa Martinez and Kirtana Chandrasekaran, Malcolm Fleming (Oxfam), Eurig Scandrett on Bhopal Voices, Libertad Coffee, straight from Chiapas, the Janeemo Project (Malawi), Grassroots Zimbabwe, Davie Philip (Cultivate Centre, Dublin), Eva Schonveld (Transition Scotland), Paul Allen on Zero Carbon Britain (Centre for Alternative Technology), Betsy Reed (Director of Scottish Fair Trade Forum), Jan Bebbington (Sustainable Development Commission), Andrew Dougall (SESTRAN) and inspirational Climate Champions communities.

For children there's puppetry with Clydebuilt Theatre, craft with those Crafty Beggars and Arborantics (and more!), acrobatics from the Chipolatas, a procession celebrating 2010 as the Year of Biodiversity, Mr Boom, storytelling and lots lots more. There will be a children's procession on the Sunday - finale at 4pm.

Poetry has a prominent place this year in the Place Apart - we will be using one of the Estate's historic buildings which is rarely accessible. Poets include Mandy Haggith, Briain Johnstone and Gerry Loose.

We've a brand new site so if you've been to Big Tent before and fancy a change, this is one year not to miss - the new site is beautiful, right in the heart of the historic landscape.

More news soon - lots of things are bubbling away and they are all very exciting - just can't quite announce them yet! So watch the website but we'll post up here too. Oh and buy your early bird tickets before 30 April and get a discount - there's local venues as well as internet tickets.

Final thing - we are on the look out for dedicated volunteers so if you want to help and be part of Big Tent, we'd love to hear from you. Drop me an email (helen@centreforstewardship.org.uk).

Helen