The whole Inverness Area will be a hive of activity this summer and children will have no chance of being bored if they join in with the hundreds of activities on offer through the Highland Council’s summer programme.

The range is even wider than ever including such diverse activities as treasure seeking and trampolining, pony trekking and parachute games, and, for the first year, meeting up with tarantulas and giant stag beetles. There are outdoor activities with the Countryside Rangers and active sessions such as football and multisports, tennis and gymnastics, shinty, dance and circus skills. There are more creative sessions such as clay modelling and magic skills, poster and banner making, music-making and drama, puppetry and painting. There are special Gaelic medium sessions in arts and crafts, computing, canoeing and a family outdoor event.

There are shows from Mr Boom, Tricky Ricky, Lempen Puppets with “Puppets in the Wild” and Waggish Radish Puppet Theatre Company from Bulgaria who are performing “Under the Carpet” and “King Ethelbert and The Happy Scamp.”

Activities take place at Highland Council premises throughout the area. Inverness Museum presents a medieval pageant day and the Floral Hall adds hissing cockroaches and other exotic beasties to its delights. Inverness Town House hosts two classical Indian musicians who will introduce children to the music and culture of India before their performance on 7 July. Most activities, however, take place in the 9 community centres in Inverness, including a series of “Manic Mondays” in Merkinch, also at the new Craigmonie Centre in Drumnadrochit.

In addition there will be loads for families at the City of Inverness Highland Games on 23 July, including a children’s village, funfair, junior games and much more (www.invernesshighlandgames.com ) and also at the range of community galas.

Information on all the activities is available from your local community centre, or Community, Learning and Leisure (Education, Culture & Sport), Town House, Inverness.