Tag Archives: festivals

Council Confirms Event and Festival Funding

Funding to support events and festivals that will boost economic growth in Argyll and Bute has been approved by the Council’s Policy and Resources Committee.

Eleven events across culture, sport and the arts will receive support totalling £95,300 from Round 4 of the Council’s Strategic Events and Festivals Fund (SEF).

These are:

• Cowal Highland Gathering

• Gathering of Cowal Clans

• Helensburgh Winter Festival

• Highlands & Islands Music & Dance Festival

• Inveraray Highland Games

• Jura Music Festival

• Mull of Kintyre Music and Arts Festival

• Mull Rally

• Tarbert Seafood Festival

• Tiree Wave Classic

• West Highland Yachting Week

Councillors also agreed to make remaining SEF funds, estimated to be £55,000, available to apply for.

Councillor Robin Currie, Policy Lead for Economic Growth said: “Events and festivals have played an important part in the economic health of Argyll and Bute in past years. The Covid pandemic however has dealt this sector a hard blow. “These funding awards are all about supporting the recovery of the local events and festivals industry and through it, the growth of local economies across Argyll and Bute.”

Information on how to apply for the next round of funding will be available on the council’s website and social media channels at the end of February, for applications to be returned by the end of April.

Tiree Represented At Thistle Awards

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Two local events have recently been flying the flag for Tiree at the Scottish Thistle awards in Edinburgh.

Tiree Music Festival and Tiree Wave Classic were both up for awards at the prestigious event described by organisers as the Scottish Tourism equivalent of the Oscars, but sadly lost out to very strong competition. Tiree Music Festival received a commendation within their category for ‘Best Culture Event or Festival’, which was won by ‘Festival 2014’, a host of events that was organised to celebrate the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. Tiree Wave Classic were also pipped to the post by the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, which won the category for ‘Best Sporting Event’.

Both events did very well to reach the national awards, having both won their categories at the regional awards in Inverness back in November – an excellent achievement for both events and for the island of Tiree! A Tiree contingent was in attendance at the event and I’m sure they all had an excellent night regardless of not winning any awards.

Tiree Music Festival 2016 is set to take place this July from the 15th to the 17th and they have recently announced some of their lineup with the Levellers and Red Hot Chilli Pipers taking to the stage, along with the local talent, Skipinnish and Skerryvore! Tickets are still available for the event and they can be bought through the website www.tireemusicfestival.co.uk. A select amount of local tickets are also on sale and can be bought from Donna at The Trust office within office hours 9am to 3pm Monday to Friday!

The dates for this year’s Tiree Wave Classic have also been set as the 15th to the 22nd of October and local man William Angus MacLean and his company Wild Diamond will be leading the organisation of this event once again! Tiree Wave Classic and William Angus this year starred in Visit Scotland’s ‘Spirit of it’s Own’ global marketing campaign which used shots from last year’s event along with an interview from William Angus. The advert is another excellent piece of exposure for Tiree and you can view it by youtubing ‘A Spirit of it’s Own – Tiree’.

Congratulations to both events for reaching the final of the Scottish Tourism Oscars, a great achievement for both organisations – well done!

Tourism Awards Finalists Selected

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HITA_2013The Highlands and Islands Tourism Awards (HITA) have announced this year’s finalists in 15 categories, each in the running to receive a coveted 2013 HITA award at the ceremony and dinner to be held on 4th October in Inverness.

The eight year old regional tourism awards programme received more entries this year than ever before and the judging panel emphasised the volume of quality submissions, identifying the 2013 short listing process as the most competitive yet. Marina Huggett, chair of the Highlands and Islands Tourism Awards said:

“It is with great pleasure that on behalf of our independent judging panel we can reveal the 2013 HITA finalists. What is particularly exciting about this year’s qualifiers is that they have been selected from a wealth of truly award winning entries. Our judging panel have communicated that in addition to receiving the highest number of entries this year from across the Highlands and Islands, the overall quality has been of an extremely high caliber, clearly demonstrating the increasingly outstanding work that tourism businesses are delivering throughout our region.”

The finalists for the Best Cultural Event Award are the Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, Inverness-shire, the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, Elgin and Tiree Music Festival.

Tiree’s Got the X Factor

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Macdonald Brothers

The Macdonald Brothers Launch The 2011 Tiree Music Festival

X Factor finalists, The MacDonald Brothers, made waves on the Hebridean Isle of Tiree recently, swapping singing for surfing as part of the official launch for this year’s Tiree Music Festival (TMF).

Flying to the western isle of Tiree, the brothers visited pupils at Tiree High School before taking to the waves and sampling the island’s world famous surf.

Tiree Music Festival

The visit marked the launch of 2011’s Tiree Music Festival with tickets available for purchase. The talent show duo – Craig and Brian MacDonald – are one of the acts confirmed for the much-anticipated two-day festival which takes place on Tiree on Saturday 23 & Sunday 24 July and celebrates Scottish music and culture.

Craig MacDonald enjoyed his surfing experience and is looking forward to their summer visit to Tiree:
“We are just back from the Caribbean and we thought we had gone back there after seeing the stunning white sand beaches on Tiree! We can’t wait to return in July to perform at TMF.”

Other acts confirmed for 2011’s Tiree Music Festival include legendary Celtic-rockers Wolfstone, Pearl & the Puppets, new Gaelic sensation Manran and a special homecoming performance from Tiree’s own international touring act, Skerryvore. Further acts will be announced in the coming weeks.

TMF organiser Daniel Gillespie believes this year’s TMF is a not-to-be-missed music event:
“TMF is the ultimate weekend away for music lovers and will celebrate Scotland’s rich and diverse music scene. With performances from one of the greatest Celtic-Rock groups in Wolfstone, to the very best in Scottish-Country, Brian Hughes, we aim to create the musical weekend from heaven in one of Scotland’s most stunning locations.”
Wolfstone’s founder and fiddler, Duncan Chisholm adds:
“We are delighted to be playing in Tiree for the first time and especially at the Tiree Music Festival. It is many years since we have travelled to the Western Isles to perform but we have many great memories of playing in Barra and the Uists. We can’t wait to be in Tiree in July.”

With transport links to Tiree from Glasgow and Oban, the Tiree Music Festival is the ideal opportunity for a weekend getaway to the western isles. This year’s event coincides with Flybe’s new Sunday service from Glasgow to Tiree. For further information log on to www.flybe.com

Last year, some of the biggest names from Scotland and Ireland’s traditional music scene performed at the Tiree Music Festival’s sell-out event including international chart topper, Sandi Thom.

Suitable for all ages, this year’s Tiree Music Festival will build on the success of the 2010 debut festival which was an instant sell-out. With support from Scotland’s Islands Fund, Scottish Power Renewables and Argyll & Bute Council, this year’s event has increased capacity. Once again, the festival features an array of music talents as well as interactive workshops, children’s ceilidhs, whisky tasting, BBQs and many other activities and events – all of which will take place on the grounds of An Talla, Tiree’s community hall.

Councillor and spokesman for Enterprise, Tourism, Energy & Culture in Argyll & Bute, Neil Mackay adds:
“Once again we have a community that support and welcome visitors to an event that has quickly established itself as a Festival not to be missed. The small team that put this event together must be congratulated for once again providing an inspirational line up that manages to mix the whole spectrum of music, Scottish, Contemporary, Traditional and a touch of Rock in such a perfect manner that is so often elusive to the organisers of similar smaller and indeed larger events.
“The increased facilities will make the family friendly festival even more attractive than last year’s sensational event and I would certainly include the Tiree Music Festival as one of the main events on the Argyll & Isles Tourism Calendar”.

Weekend tickets for 2011’s Tiree Music Festival (TMF) cost £50 and are available from www.ticketsoup.com, by phone on 0844 395 4000 or in person at the SECC box office or from the Tiree Business Centre. For further information on TMF and ticket details, visit the official website: www.tireemusicfestival.co.uk