Oban Live reins in support from young talent in Argyll
Young people have been a beneficial asset in the planning for Oban Live this year, according to the team behind the event.
In Scotland’s Year of Young People 2018, the event, which attracts around 8,000 attendees and takes place this Friday and Saturday, June 8 and 9, at Mossfield Stadium in Oban, has engaged in a number of projects that not only use the skills of young people, but also celebrate young talent.
This year, Scotland is putting its young people in the spotlight, celebrating their achievements, valuing their contributions and creating new opportunities for them to shine.
Most recently, Oban Live has teamed up with Young Scot and Argyll and Bute Council’s Youth Services to provide 1,000 Young Scot reward points to young people volunteering at Oban Live.
The earned points can be spent on a number of rewards organised through Young Scot.
The volunteering activity gives young people the opportunity to see the event from a different perspective and to gain valuable skills.
Eighteen-year-old Hannah Nicolson, a youth services modern apprentice through the council’s Growing Our Own scheme, will be on site at Oban Live to hand out the points to young volunteers with Young Scot cards. She will also run a stand promoting the work they do, as well as their activities throughout Year of Young People 2018.
Hannah will be supported at the event by 17-year-old Shannon Watson who is doing work experience as an events marketing assistant at Oban Live. Shannon has assisted in various projects, including event photocalls, poster distribution, social media and school design competitions.
Shannon completed five awards in Pathways, customer service leadership, community achievement, volunteering and employability in her last year at Oban High School and has secured a place at Inverness College UHI to study events operations and hospitality.
Young artistic talent will also be celebrated at Oban Live.
Nineteen-year-old Kathleen Robertson from Strontian joins the line-up this year after winning the Oban Unsigned competition in The Oban Times.
The competition sees Oban Live look for an unsigned act, living in and around Oban to perform at the event. Kathleen will open this year’s event on Friday June 8 at 4.30pm.
The phenomenal success of Oban High School Pipe Band will once again be celebrated and the audience can expect to see a few surprise performances throughout the show from this incredible group of young musicians, led by legendary piper Angus MacColl.
A recent school competition, in which pupils were invited to design official Oban Live 2018 merchandise, received more than 200 entries from ages five to 18. All entrants received a certificate in Design Excellence.
Designs by the overall winner - 13-year-old Oban High School pupil Ruby Heritage-Crabb and primary school winner Isla from Lochnell Primary School - will feature on Oban Live t-shirts this year and will be available for sale in the event’s merchandise tent.