May tradition is alive and well

It’s now 52 years since the ever-popular cultural extravaganza Perth Festival of the Arts was first staged.

One of Scotland’s leading independent arts festivals, the annual event supports creatives from the Fair City and beyond and provides a crucial source of income and promotion for a wide range of community partners and businesses, taking in venues such as churches, theatres, schools, shops and voluntary organisations.

Historically, around two-thirds of the festival’s audience has been made up of attendees from Perth and district, with another third coming from elsewhere in Scotland and about 5% from other nations.

As well as bringing notable performers to Perth’s impressive cultural and historical venues, the festival’s hard-working team of volunteer directors take pride in discovering and providing platforms for new and emerging artists in Scotland.

PFA’S eclectic roster over the years has taken in all sorts of music, from classical, opera, rock and jazz to Celtic sounds, plus comedy, theatre, dance and the visual arts.

The list of international and national artists who have appeared at the festival over the years includes the likes of Bryn Terfel, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Van Morrison, Nicola Benedetti, The Proclaimers, KT Tunstall, Calvin Harris, Sharleen Spiteri, Dara O Briain, Julian Clary and Paul Merton.

Covid caused the cancellation of the event in 2020, before it returned as an online offering the following year. Thankfully, however, the festival was able to resume in-person performances in 2022 – exactly 50 years on from launching in 1972. Highlights at this year’s diverse Fair City extravaganza, which starts on Wednesday with the first of two performances of Mozart’s The Magic Flute by the Scots Opera Project and runs until June 1, include appearances from impressionist Rory Bremner and Red Dwarf actor and DJ Craign Charles, plus a series of free lunchtime classical concerts featuring young musicians from local schools. Tickets for all events are available from the box office on 01738 621031 or by visiting Perth Theatre.

From left: Perth Festival of the Arts helpers Karl Stern, Hugh Maxwell, Flora Shedden, Hugh Goring and David Fleming in 2015.

Eric Niven enjoyed a trek in rural Perthshire and says: “Birnam Glen is a lovely walk and I usually stop to look at the Inchewan Burn waterfall. It’s always a wee bit different.”