Team effort pays off on arts festival

Dear Editor

On behalf of Crieff Arts Festival, I’d like to convey thanks to some of the people who made it such a success.

This year we joined the Crieff Remembers festival and adopted the theme of commemoration of WW1.

June McEwan put the call out for crocheted poppies and adorned James Square, with almost 1000 of them created.

We paid tribute to Strathearn’s fallen in the town’s shop windows alongside poems of remembrance.

Much gratitude to the local poets, artists and shopkeepers who took part.

The main achievement of this year’s arts festival, however, was bringing the Scottish Diaspora Tapestry to Crieff.

Over three weeks we had an average of 125 visitors per day, and we sold more merchandise - which goes towards the tapestry maintenance than they did at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh.

However, mounting such an exhibit is expensive, time-consuming and logistically difficult, and our thanks must go to our two main sponsors – Crieff Succeeds BID for invaluable financial support and Morrison’s Academy for the use of the venue – and all the volunteers who gave their time to invigilate the exhibition.

Special mention should be made of Dr Margaret Bennett, who gave a fascinating talk and ramble round the tapestry, and our resident student Iona Grant, who kept a note of our footfall, sales and information with diligence and charm.

Nigel Gatherer Chairman Crieff Arts Festival