Stranraer Oyster Festival has announced customer service experts Ascensos as their headline sponsor for 2022, and is pledging to deliver exceptional customer service alongside an exciting programme of chef demonstrations, entertainment and fun activities for people visiting the festival.
Taking place from 2nd to 4th September 2022 Stranraer Oyster Festival, which is organised by community organisation Stranraer Development Trust, returns after a two year covid-related hiatus. The festival dates coincide with the opening of the UK’s native oyster season, and the local oysters will take centre stage in a three-day programme that celebrates the place, people and the produce of south west Scotland.
The sponsorship announcement comes nine months after Ascensos opened a ‘local hub’ in Stranraer, creating high quality digital jobs in the rural area, with staff mainly working from home.
Ascensos, which is headquartered in Motherwell, currently employs more than 3,500 colleagues across its network of offices in the Isle of Wight, Glasgow, Bucharest, Antalya, Cape Town and Istanbul. Stranraer is the first location of a community-focused arm of the business called Ascensos Local, and the company is on track to create 100 jobs in its first 12 months in the town.
For John Devlin, CEO and co-founder of Ascensos, supporting community-led initiatives, like Stranraer Oyster Festival, is a natural fit with the values of Ascensos Local. He said:
“As a company we understand the value of community, and becoming part of the vibrant community spirit in Stranraer has always been important to us.
“Stranraer Oyster Festival is a real focal point for the town, and for visitors to Galloway, so we are delighted to be working with Stranraer Development Trust to support their fantastic work and to help spread the word about the return of the oyster festival.”
One of Scotland’s biggest food festivals , Stranraer Oyster Festival takes place just a short distance from the famous oyster beds in Loch Ryan that provide the inspiration for the festival. Loch Ryan is home to Scotland’s last remaining wild, native oyster fishery, and the oysters are highly sought after by top chefs and seafood lovers around the world.
Romano Petrucci, Chair of Stranraer Development Trust, welcomed the sponsorship by Ascensos, describing it as a ‘perfect partnership’ in furthering the development of the festival.
“Stranraer Oyster Festival is a hugely important part of our town’s identity, and a real focal point for celebrating the very best that Stranraer and the wider Galloway area has to offer. It’s also a great example of what can be achieved when our community comes together to encourage people to visit our beautiful part of Scotland.
“So I am delighted that John and the Ascensos team are keen to play an active part in helping Stranraer Oyster Festival to thrive. The warmth of our welcome combined with Ascensos’ inspiring and fun approach to customer service is a perfect partnership that is bound to make the 2022 return of Stranraer Oyster Festival a must-visit.”
Stranraer Oyster Festival is supported through EventScotland’s National Funding Programme and Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Major Events Strategic Fund. The work of Stranraer Development Trust is also supported by Kilgallioch Community Fund.
Romano added:
“Lots of people have already booked their tickets online, and I’d like to thank each and every person who has done so. We are really keen to minimise queues within the festival site this year, so we’ve set up online ticketing and we are asking people to plan ahead and book in advance.
“Having an early understanding of attendance will help us enormously in creating a festival atmosphere we can all be proud of. So if you haven’t already booked your Stranraer Oyster Festival tickets, please do so soon!”
General admission tickets for Stranraer Oyster Festival 2022 can be purchased from Stranraer Development Trust’s website: www.stranraerdevelopmenttrust.co.uk
Tickets cost £5 per day or £10 for the full three-day event for over 16s, with concessions available. Under 16s are free of charge, and tickets are available to purchase now. The full programme will be announced next week, when tickets for chef demos and activities go on sale.
