Enchanted Forest donates cash to local groups

The Enchanted Forest Community Trust, organisers of the award-winning sound and light show in the woods, has awarded a whopping £10,000 to a range of worthy projects in Highland Perthshire.

This is the fourth year that such a fund has been available, and the good causes range from a Girl Guide trip to Switzerland, to a Christmas Market in Pitlochry, and the purchase of new Neighbourhood Watch signs.

The Enchanted Forest’s 2016 show, ‘Shimmer’, marked the event’s 15th year and has been widely hailed by visitors as the best event to date, with many visitors taking to social media channels to express their delight at the spectacle.

Just over 70,000 visitors attended last year’s show, a 13 per cent increase on the previous record-breaking year.

It is estimated that the event’s impact on the local tourism economy is in excess of £3million per annum, with around 50 per cent of all visitors to the event choosing to stay overnight in the area on their visit and over 90 per cent citing the event as their main reason for visiting the area in the autumn. The Enchanted Forest chairman Ian Sim said:“Last year’s Shimmer extravaganza saw more people visiting the Enchanted Forest than ever before. This incredible support means we are able to fund a host of local community projects.

“We’re delighted our show helps make all of these projects possible, and visitors should feel proud that, just by visiting the show, they have done their bit to give back to the community and benefit the local area.”

The full list is as follows: Highland Mainline Community Partnership (£1600); the Atholl Centre (£1500); Pitlochry Winter Lighting Project (£1200); Soldiers of Killiecrankie (£1000); Pitlochry Paths Group (£1000); Pitlochry in Bloom (£600); Pitlochry Baptist Church (£550); Pitlochry and Blair Atholl Bagpipe Band (£500); March Into Pitlochry Music Festival (£500); Pitlochry Christmas Market (£500); Girlguiding Dunkeld and Pitlochry (£500); Biodynamic garden at Camserney (£300); Pitlochry and District Neighbourhood Watch (£250).

This year’s Enchanted Forest will run from September 28 to October 29 and tickets will go on sale to the public in June 2017. More information on The Enchanted Forest is available on www. enchantedforest.org.uk