This year Eden Festival was awarded £12,000 from Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Major Events Strategic Fund. The grant was provided to start an internship programme and pay for the recruitment of three local interns; Alice Jane King, 22 from Kirkcudbright, Sean Dickson, 21 from Moffat and Ian Gisbey, 22, from Auchencairn. The Council manages and delivers on behalf of a range of agencies the Dumfries and Galloway Major Festivals and Events Strategy, 2014-2017.
Councillor Colin Smyth, Dumfries and Galloway’s Events Champion said, “The Eden Festival really is Scotland’s up and coming music festival, that is showing every sign of a big upsurge of support and increased visitor numbers. The site at Raehills is a green oasis for people of all ages to enjoy, and is a chance to take in some fantastic music and family friendly entertainment. Council funding in 2016 has been used to train up three young people in festival management skills, which is in tune with the Council’s determination to create employment and opportunities for the young people of Dumfries and Galloway, and to retain people here in our region.”
Eden Festival Director Meredith Langley Vine, started as an intern herself at the festival back in 2010, working her way up to her current position, and has since then developed a successful career in the events industry. She went on to say, “Involving young people in the local community has always been at the core of what Eden Festival is about. Having run a successful volunteer scheme for the last few years its brilliant that this year, thanks to the support from the council, we have been able to develop this into a longer, more focused Internship program. Iain, Alice and Sean have been fantastic, getting stuck into all aspects of the festival planning, they are an invaluable addition to the core management team. Dumfries and Galloway hosts many unique and high quality events, and with the success of these events being so crucial to the area we are pleased to offer a unique opportunity and continue to work towards creating a legacy of young Festival and Event Managers”
Intern, Alice Jane King “I was really excited about joining the Eden team, as I have been attending the festival since it was founded. Last year I graduated Queen Margaret University in Events Management, so when the opportunity came up, I grabbed it. Organising music festivals is my chosen career path, so this is great opportunity for me to learn all areas of festival management.”
Facts you may not know about Eden Festival: Eden Festival has a significant impact on the local community, the economic impact in 2015 was valued at £1,521,667.98. It is a not for profit community event and all Directors and Management are unpaid and organise the festival in their free time. They have approximately 350 local volunteers, 40 local performing artists, 80% of the stages are run by local residents, and 40% of the traders are local too.
Eden Festival takes place this year from the 9th – 12th June at Raehill Meadows, near Moffat.
