Shetland Museum celebrates Lerwick Up Helly Aa 2024

The Shetland Museum & Archives was full of activity last week as we celebrated Lerwick Up Helly Aa with a series of fiery events and extended opening times.

Our programme kicked off with a brilliant lecture from Linda Riddell titled 'Exit the Viking?’ which explored the attitudes to war and Vikings in Shetland in the early 1920s. Linda discussed the civic seriousness of the war memorial campaign, followed by the recreation and fun at Up Helly Aa a fortnight later. We had an excellent audience in attendance brimming with questions and discussion. A great start to the week.

The following day we organised a fun-filled morning for pre-schoolers, together we made paper helmets, shields and torches and held our own mini procession through the galleries, led by local musician Trevor Jamieson.

We also ran our Origins of Up Helly Aa tours throughout the week which were very popular with visitors. There was a lot of interest in learning more about the history of the festival and how it has evolved into the format we recognise today.

Linda a member of our Visitor Experience Team, leading a tour.

Tuesday 30th January - Up Helly Aa day is always a busy one at the museum and this year was no exception – we welcomed three school groups throughout the morning who enjoyed our Viking crafts and learnt about Viking artefacts with Jenny our curator of collections. We also ran tours and were delighted to have the Junior Squad’s peerie galley on display at Hay’s Dock.

Aith Primary School bairns get crafty
Junior Squad’s peerie galley on display in Hay’s Dock.

There was a lovely buzz around the building throughout the day, and it was great to see visitors and locals of all ages enjoying Up Helly Aa at the museum.

The highlight of the day was of course the visit from this year’s Jarl, Richard Moar and his squad. They sang their UHA songs and took the time to chat with locals and visitors alike showing off the craftmanship of their outfits, shields and helmets.

The day was rounded off in style as some of the Jarl Squad lit their torches and gave us a beautiful fiery display at Hay’s Dock.

Online Content
We also continued the Viking theme online, sharing interesting content throughout the week from the Shetland Archives and the Museum's Collection...

Related Posts

Fun Friday night at our Skekler Social

What a fun Friday night we had at our Skekler Social, there was making, yarning, music, stories and even a bit of dancing too!

Read more

Shetland Amenity Trust secures successful funding for maritime heritage project

Shetland Amenity Trust is delighted to announce that it has been approved funding of just under £97,000 from the Coastal Communities ...

Read more

Museum Shop Sunday

Shetland Museum and Archives invites visitors to an afternoon of festive cheer, exclusive shopping opportunities and creative crafts ...

Read more

Hay's Dock by the Dowry announces closure

It is with regret that we announce the closure of 'Hay's Dock by The Dowry', which was operated by Beervana Ltd, located at Shetland ...

Read more

Can you help us identify the last unknown person photographed in Chris Morphet’s Allover Exhibition?

We would love to be able to find the name of the lady standing in front of a peat stack and complete our search before the exhibition ...

Read more

New exhibition coming soon: ‘Allover’ – a photographic journey into 1970s Fair Isle knitwear by Chris Morphet

Shetland Museum and Archives is delighted to announce the opening of its latest exhibition next Saturday, ‘Allover’ celebrating ...

Read more

The Crafts of Foragers - new display

Shetland Museum and Archives is proud to announce a new display, The Crafts of Foragers, offering a captivating glimpse into ...

Read more

Shetland Museum unveils Twenty Shades of Blue in new art exhibition inspired by Shetland’s Seascapes

Shetland Museum is delighted to announce the opening of an inspiring new exhibition, Twenty Shades of Blue, in the Gadderie space this ...

Read more

New photographic exhibition capturing 1970s social history

A new photographic exhibition opens today at Shetland Museum and Archives which provides a glimpse into an aspect of Shetland’s ...

Read more

‘All About Everything’ featuring the creative work of Eric Gray students

The creative and colourful work of Eric Gray students is on display from today in a new exhibition ‘All About Everything’ at the ...

Read more

Marion Ninianson’s Roup

Roup is a word not commonly used in Shetland any more, although the Shetland Times in 1962 advertised a house in Scalloway “for sale ...

Read more

New summer exhibition Ebbe and Flow to open this weekend

A new exhibition celebrating cultural and maritime connections with Scandinavia through the work of Scottish and Norwegian artists ...

Read more

Shetland Amenity Trust celebrates collaboration with Shetland Family History Group in acquiring Gilbert Goudie’s Notebook

Shetland Amenity Trust is delighted to announce the successful acquisition of a significant 19th century notebook to the Shetland ...

Read more

Wonderful woolly evening at the Shetland Museum

What a fantastic evening at the Shetland Museum celebrating the announcement of the new Shetland Wool Week Patrons, the Doull Family, ...

Read more

New book of Shetland Fine Lace Knitting launched

A new publication, ‘Shetland Fine Lace Knitting – Recreating patterns from the past’ by Shetland Museum’s textiles curator, ...

Read more