Culture Night Stirling 30 April 2027
Forest of the Unicorn
An annual event that celebrates Stirling’s thriving culture scene
Background of Culture Night Stirling
Taking place across Stirling and the surrounding areas, Culture Night Stirling celebrates the city’s uniqueness and diversity of culture.
The annual event is for everyone, connecting our communities to cultural activities showcasing music, art, crafts, literature, dance, drama, comedy and more across Stirling.
Culture Night Stirling aims to bring together communities and a range of sectors – arts, heritage, education, hospitality, tourism, health and commercial and corporate enterprise.
The event aims to enhance Stirling’s nighttime offer and create new opportunities for cultural experiences.
Register your interest to be notified of news about Culture Night Stirling 2027 or how to get involved
Culture Night Stirling 2027: Register your interest as a venue
Culture Night Stirling returns on Friday 30 April 2027 with the theme Forest of the Unicorn.
We are inviting venues across Stirling to express an interest in taking part. Whether you have hosted events before or are considering participating for the first time, we’d love to hear from you.
This short form will help us understand your venue, available spaces and whether you would like us to programme activity in your venue or whether you plan to organise your own event(s).
Register your interest as a venue
Forest of the Unicorn Theme
In Stirling, the unicorn has always walked alongside the city—etched into stone, woven into glass, carved into wood, and carried through centuries of story. Forest of the Unicorn draws on this enduring presence, inviting audiences into a place where legend and landscape meet, and where this ancient national symbol leads us through mystical lands and layers of time.
Forest of the Unicorn is an invitation to rediscover the power of myth, to connect us to place, and to one another through music, art, song, story, poetry, performance and more.
Stirling – A People Watched Over by the Unicorn
Mercat Cross
At the heart of Stirling’s Old Town stands the Mercat Cross, a site of gathering, trade and civic life since the medieval period. Crowning it is a unicorn, with finial dating from the 16th century—an original feature that has surveyed centuries of change. Once a marker of trading rights, the unicorn today stands as a quiet guardian of the city’s shared history and collective spirit.
The unicorn’s presence continues at the National Wallace Monument. Two stained glass windows portray the creature holding Scotland’s banners: one bearing the Royal Standard, the other the Saltire. Through coloured light and stone, the unicorn is cast as a sentinel of sovereignty, strength and identity—an ever‑present symbol of Scotland.
At Stirling Castle, the Unicorn is represented in thread and colour at The Stirling Tapestries, inspired by the great medieval Unicorn Tapestries, reimagining the unicorn across vast woven scenes rich with symbolism. The Stirling Heads see unicorns carved from wood.
All of these representations celebrate beautiful craft, collaboration and storytelling, binding past and present through a shared act of making. All things we will celebrate through Culture Night Stirling.
Myth, Mystery and Meaning
In Celtic mythology, the unicorn is a creature of purity and power—rare, untamed and deeply symbolic. It inhabits the threshold between the physical and spiritual worlds, embodying harmony, healing and balance. Legends speak of its spiralling horn purifying poisoned waters, a potent image of renewal and hope.
The unicorn is both fierce and graceful: a protector, a warrior, and a symbol of inner strength. Its elusive nature reminds us that some things—truth, wonder, belief—cannot be easily captured, only glimpsed.
Scotland’s Wild Imagination
When Scotland chose the unicorn as its national animal, it made a deliberate and telling choice. Introduced to the royal coat of arms in the mid‑1500s, and once appearing as twin supporters before the Union of the Crowns, the Scottish unicorn is no gentle fantasy. On heraldry and in stone, it is muscular and upright, crowned and chained, powerful yet restrained.
Scotland has more unicorn imagery than anywhere else in the world. These figures are not ornaments but declarations—symbols of courage held in balance with responsibility.
Scotland could have chosen an animal of its hills or glens, but instead it chose a creature born of imagination. In doing so, it declared something essential about itself. Across centuries, Scots have been makers, thinkers and storytellers. The unicorn represents the belief that possibility can shape reality, and that imagination is not a luxury, but a strength.
Forest of the Unicorn is an invitation to step into imagination and to rediscover the power of myth to inspire, and to connect us to place, and to one another through music, art, song, story, poetry, performance and more.
Forest of the Unicorn Design
SUPERLECTRIC is the operational name of Stirling based freelance Graphic Designer and Illustrator Staci Jo Rowlison.
SUPERLECTRIC is characterised by bold colour palettes, striking typography, and a strong emphasis on storytelling through visual elements. Staci’s work often combines intricate illustrations with modern design techniques as well as creating a unique aesthetic that captures attention and engages viewers. Staci’s ability to blend traditional motifs with contemporary design trends allows her to maintain a distinct artistic voice.
A big supporter of the arts in Stirling, Staci has supported many creative organisations and projects in Stirling over the years, including Stirling 900, Bloody Scotland and University of Stirling.
Staci has also worked on Scotland wide creative projects for organisations and events such as DF Concerts, T in The Park, Visit Scotland, and Connect Festival.
