With Wigtown Book Festival now in full flow the organisers have thanked visitors and supporters for showing their support in difficult times for the arts.
The annual festival, created to help promote Scotland’s National Book Town and regenerate the economy in one of the poorest parts of rural Scotland, has faced multiple challenges.
One was the loss of major funding from Baillie Gifford which withdrew its funding to book festivals around the country after protests.
However, the continued backing of Dumfries and Galloway Council (DGC) which has provided around £27,000 funding for the 2024 Festival (as part of its 2023-2027 Events Strategy) has proved invaluable. The festival is one of seven designated Signature Events within the Strategy.
And this year the festival has also organised The Coastal Fringe, four events enabling people to explore the Solway coastline in expert company, in partnership SCAMP (Solway Coast and Marine Project, an initiative by the DGC Environment Team).
This has proved so popular that several of these free events were fully booked well in advance (anyone interested in taking part should check the festival website).
Cathy Agnew, chair of Wigtown Festival Company, said: “The festival brings in more than 8,000 visitors and £4 million a year to the area’s economy – in a region that faces so many challenges, this is vital for jobs and businesses.
“More than that, it plays an essential part in the cultural life of Scotland and its people – and in encouraging a new generation of readers and writers through its work with children and young adults.
“Public sector support for the arts has dwindled. COVID and the Cost of Living Crisis have created intense problems and the loss of a major sponsor made things even worse.
“Our long and established partnership with Dumfries and Galloway Council has, though, been a bright spot amidst all this. We are delighted that they recognise that funding the arts is a vital investment in the economy and community which repays itself many times over.
“I would also like to thank our many, many visitors and our private sector sponsors, who have continued to show such a strong belief in the value of this event to Galloway and Scotland over the last quarter of a century.”
This year’s festival, which runs until 6 October, features more than 250 events and activities
Guests include famous names, fascinating authors, leading thinkers, writers, politicians, poets and international journalists.
Councillor Ian Blake said: “The Book Festival has a wonderful programme that showcases many great authors and rural life in Galloway, as well as more international themes.
“It’s a treat to take time out of our busy lives to visit Wigtown and to relax and unwind amidst the bookshops and unspoiled landscape. The Council is delighted to support the festival as one of our Signature Events of Dumfries and Galloway.”
At Wigtown the books are just the beginning.
The Coastal Fringe is an example of this and the kind of innovative approach taken by WFC to promote the region and its natural riches.
Coastal Fringe events include:
- Woodlands:Making the Most of our Coast: The chance to join McNabb Laurie, Manager of Dumfries & Galloway Woodlands to find out more about the role of woodlands along our coast. What species of trees are native to the area and what did the woodlands look like in the past?
- Up the Creek:Jamie Ribbens, Senior Fisheries Biologist at the Galloway Fisheries Trust, and biologist Emily Wardhaugh are leading an adventure to find out more about the salt marsh as a habitat for young fish. It is well recognised that inter-tidal marshes provide important nursery and rich feeding areas. Jamie shows why.
- Mysterious Mud Creatures:Mud is good, it forms the stunning salt marsh of Wigtown Bay and helps create the rich habitat we can see there. Freelance ranger Elizabeth Tindal heads an expedition to find some of the many creatures who live in it.
- Oysters Unshelled:Oysters are a delicacy today. But they were once an important everyday food source on this part of the coast, landing in quantity at Garlieston and the Isle of Whithorn. Fisheries ecologist Nick Chisholm conducts an interactive investigation into why they vanished and whether there might be positive signs of a return to this coastal habitat.
This year’s principal Wigtown Book Festival funders are Dumfries and Galloway Council, The Holywood Trust, EventScotland and Creative Scotland.
SCAMP is supported by NatureScot in collaboration with the Scottish Government and in partnership with the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
