Dumfries and Galloway Council today approved a funding package for major festivals and events in the region totalling £275,000.
The funding is linked to the new regional Major Festivals and Events Strategy and secures funding for fifteen festivals and events across Dumfries and Galloway.
Key beneficiaries are the ‘Signature Events’ of the new Strategy – Big Burns Supper, the Arts Festival, Wigtown Book Festival, Spring Fling, the Scottish Rally and World Championship Ice Hockey. Funding has been ring-fenced for the Tour of Britain in 2019.
A ten day international cultural Festival is to take place in Kirkcudbright in October 2018, to celebrate the artists’ town and the new public art gallery. The ‘Festival of Light’ is receive a £14,000 grant and will link closely to the Wigtown Book Festival to attract new and return visitors to Galloway.
The funding package is integral to the Council’s drive to make Dumfries and Galloway the best place in rural Scotland in which to plan, manage and visit events, and to secure more than £30m for the regional economy in the next four years.
Councillor Andy Ferguson, Chair of the Council’s Communities Committee said, “The funding approved today demonstrates the Council’s faith in a superb portfolio of festivals and events in the region, and the event organisers who have guided their sustainable development to date. Hot on the successful heels of World Championship Ice Hockey and the Big Burns Supper, our public funding will draw thousands of new visitors to Dumfries and Galloway and create a series of memorable weekends for tourists and local people alike. Our proactive, long term work is paying dividends and the Council is determined to keep this work going.”
Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events, said: “I’m delighted Dumfries and Galloway Council has approved the funding package for the 15 events and festivals in the region as part of their commitment through their strategy to build a thriving portfolio of events that drives strong economic benefit for the region.
Reflecting the national events strategy, the work being done through their Major Festivals and Events Strategy will ensure the country has a strong and dynamic events industry, producing a portfolio of events and festivals that delivers sustainable impact and showcase Scotland as the perfect stage for events.”
Councillor John Martin, the Vice-Chair of the Communities Committee said, “The Council continues to invest in major events as they are still stimulating economic growth and creating jobs, facilitating cultural and sporting development, and opening up new employment opportunities for young people. There are some exceptional examples of events developing hundreds of volunteers and this collective effort is getting Dumfries and Galloway on the map nationally and internationally. Our funding programme for 2018/19 will benefit communities and businesses the length and breadth of Dumfries and Galloway, from the mouth-watering prospect of the second Stranraer Oyster Festival to the feel good Muckle Toon Adventure Festival in Langholm.”
The Council’s funding package also provides support for Dumfries Ice Bowl Curling Association and for the region’s outdoor music festivals to conduct audience research. To plan for the next generation of events, in 2019 the Council will introduce the Regional Events Growth Fund. Workshops will be held across Dumfries and Galloway in September and October of this year to promote this Fund and assist potential applicants.
The funded projects will have to wait until after the Council sets its 2018/19 budget on 27 February for final confirmation of their awards.
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