The Ayrshire Fiddle Orchestra are celebrating their 40th year with a 40-hour 'playathon' at Troon Old Parish Church.

The playathon will take place on Friday, August 19 at 5.30pm until Sunday, August 21 at 9.30am.

The orchestra was founded in August 1982 by Wallace and Lex Galbraith, both string instrument tutors in Ayrshire, with the aim of encouraging and developing Scots fiddle music among local young musicians, many of whom were, or had been, their pupils.

The 40-hour playathon will feature both current and former players to help celebrate the orchestra; it will also support the orchestra towards its fund-raising for their upcoming Southern States Tour in 2023 where around 60 members will be touring and promoting Scottish fiddle music in the USA.

The playathon starts with a free concert, open to the public, from 5.30pm until 7pm on August 19. The orchestra will then perform a second free concert on the Saturday evening, August 20, from 7pm until 8pm, and they will perform a final concert on Sunday morning, from 9am until 9.30am.

The concerts are open to the public and the orchestra would like to extend a warm welcome to the local community to join them at these concerts.

In addition to the concerts, groups of the orchestra will be playing throughout the weekend in Troon Old Parish Church and the public are welcome to pop in when they are passing.

There will also be a ceilidh on the Friday night from 7pm, with tickets - costing just £5 each - available on the door of the church hall.

More details can also be found here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/40hrplayathon.