Halloween festivals secure extra funding
Halloween festivals are to benefit from a year-long bid to help Scotland's events sector recover from the pandemic after the Scottish Government agreed to put in almost half a million pounds of additional financial backing into the initiative.
The value of a Scottish Events Recoveryfundhasbeenboosted to £3.2 million due to the level of demand from organisers across the country.
Around275eventsin-person, hybrid and online events are expectedtohavebenefitedfrom the fund, which was launched last November, by the end of this year.
They include forthcoming Halloween events in Ayrshire and Perthshire, as well as a science festival in Stirling and an ultra hill race in the West Highlands.
The creation of the fund was intended to help secure the futureofeventsacrossscotland whichwerefacinganuncertain futureduetocovidrestrictions.
Grants of between £1,000 and £35,000 were available to support eligible events, which included comedy, film, book, poetry, dance, music and food festivals, as well as lighting trails, agricultural events, fashion shows and Highland Games.
The extra funding was partly intended to allow brand new events to be staged around the country throughout this year.
Events being supported via the fund include Tamfest, a hybrideventbilledas“acelebrationofhalloweenandheritage,” which includes a mix of in-person, film and virtual elements.
Spirits of Scone, which is billed as “a fightfest like no other,” is staged in the grounds of Scone Palace, in Perthshire.
Stirling Science Festival, which will feature both in-person and online events, is due to go ahead for a second year this month to coincide with the school holidays.
The Highland Ultra is a 125 km race, which is split into three stages, which takes part in the stunning coastal mountains of the Knoydart Peninsula, a remote corner of the West Highlands only reachable by seaoronfoot.
Other events supported included Aproxima Arts’ Over Lunan, which was staged on sand dunes in Angus in September.
Scottish culture minister Jenny Gilruth said: “The tourism and events sectors have an important contribution to maketothecountry’swidereconomic recovery.
“We have provided a further financial boost to Scotland’s Events Recovery Fund to enable more events to take place. This will help build a stronger and more sustainable sector and demonstrate the Scottish Government’s continued commitmenttoscotlandastheperfect stage for events.
“Eventsarerecognisedashaving a positive impact on health and wellbeing and it’s important that audiences have the opportunity and confidence to enjoy a range of different events that this additional funding supports.”
Paulbush,directorofeventsat g overnment agency Visitscotland, said: “The further financial boost of £450,000 for Scotland’s Events Recovery Fund is we lcome news and enables vital support for eventswho submittedapplications.”.”