FROM SOUL to opera in 24 hours, that’s the ambitious double bill headlining this year’s Culross Festival.

Big Vern ’n’ The Shootahs are scheduled to perform in the gardens of the 17th century Abbey House—home to Lord and Lady Bruce—on Friday, August 3, followed a day later by Opera Box’s La Boheme.

More importantly for audiences at both open-air events, the festival committee have made arrangements in case of bad weather—something seen as vital this summer.

Big Vern ’n’ The Shootahs are an eight-piece soul band from Glasgow, whose musical influences include Motown to Prince and the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Nazareth.

The band will be supported by Deal with Duncan Wood and will start at 7.30pm.

The lawns of Abbey House will be ringing with a playlist which includes Heard it through the Grapevine, Kiss, Beyonce’s Crazy in Love and Robbie Williams’ Let Me Entertain You.

The Scottish band give way only 24 hours later to the romance of La Boheme.

The festival has for many years been staging these highly successful open-air operas—the first was in 1996—in the gardens on Abbey House.

Opera Box, which was founded in 1988 and has established a reputation for opera performances of the highest quality on its tours of outdoor and indoor venues across the country, will perform Puccini’s classic in Italian.

It will be brought to life by the company’s singers, many of whom have worked with major British opera companies including the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and Glyndebourne Festival Opera.

The opera setting will use the Abbey House as a unique backdrop to enhance both the sound and atmosphere of the performance.

The opera audiences are invited to bring picnics.

Guide dogs only are allowed in gardens and car parking will be provided beside Abbey House for both events.

For La Boheme the gardens open from 2pm with the opera itself starting at 4pm.

More information is available from festival website www.culrossfestival.com and tickets are available from several local venues, including the Rothes Halls box office.

Rounding off a busy weekend for the picturesque Forthside village is the traditional royal burgh of Culross Medieval Burgh Fair on Sunday, August 5.

The fair regularly attracts thousands of visitors to the village, the birthplace of Glasgow’s patron saint, St Mungo.

Culross was granted royal burgh status in 1592 and has often been described as a place which time has passed by.

On August 5 the event will start with a parade from the Old Schoolyard Garden and will lead to the official opening ceremony which will be performed this year by local councillor Gerry McMullan at noon.

The parade will include local children who will be dressed in period costume and will be led by a pipe band from Inverkeithing.

The main bustle will be at the Tron, the heart of the fair, where Rosa Mundi Historical Interpretation Society will perform on the village green.

Stall holders in period dress will be selling crafts and local produce and there will be refreshments in the form of traditional teas on the green.

The Culross Highland Dance competition will be held in the Stables Courtyard in Low Causeway.

The day ends with a folk night in Stables Courtyard with doors opening at 7pm.

Tickets are available from the Rothes Halls box office on 01592 611101 or Roy McCormack on 07971 173221.

Parking for the fair is available in official car parks at either end of the village.