Streets of Dumfries
Written by author on April 20, 2011
Streets of Dumfries, the new big opener for Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival on Saturday 21 May has seen new investment in the arts in the region.
The Festival has attracted £32,000 from national investment streams, allowing the creation of a new event, Streets of Dumfries, as well as an improved PR operation to reach out to visitors from outwith Dumfries and Galloway. The Festival generates a spend of £60,000 annually in the local economy and it is expected that local business will also benefit as visitors to the Festival fill up accommodation and visitor attractions.
Paul Bush OBE, Chief Operating Officer of EventScotland commented, “We are delighted to be supporting the new “Street of Dumfries” element to the Festival, an exciting new development for this long standing arts event which should help to engage new audiences and drive increased visitor numbers to Dumfries and Galloway”.
Development Officer for the Arts Festival, Peter Renwick said, “The aim of the Festival is to create a wide ranging programme that reaches out across the region. This additional investment greatly expands our reach to both locals and visitors. Our publicity strategy ensures good local awareness, but also has a national reach to get people to sit up and take notice of all that the region has to offer.”
Peter continued: “We are incredibly grateful for the support for this project from EventScotland, Awards for All, Make a Splash, The Holywood Trust, and Dumfries and Galloway’s Beacon Events Programme. This has enabled us to add a whole new dimension to the festival, which we hope will be able to grow in future years.”
EventScotland and Beacon Events investment has enabled the Festival to offer some extremely good names at a very accessible ticket price. Funding from Awards for All, Make a Splash, and The Holywood Trust has allowed the development of an imaginative workshop programme of Dance, Circus, Carnival music and Props that will run regionwide from the beginning of May. Artists from Ignite Dance Project, Theatre Modo, aethAERIALarts, Orkestra Del Sol, and Annapurna Indian Dance Company will be going into schools and youth groups regionwide.
‘Streets of Dumfries’ offers an early summer afternoon of free family entertainment on Saturday 21 May. Join the crowds on the High Street from 1pm to follow a Big Band Street Carnival on its way down to Dock Park beside the River Nith. Look out for street dancers from Ignite, stilt walkers from Theatre Modo and all the brass, drums and atmosphere of carnival.
At 5pm in Dock Park there will be a funky ticketed show, headlined by Celtic Connections stars Skerryvore, and also featuring the extraordinary Orkestra del Sol, The Hidden Orchestra and Horndog Brass Band.
Tickets are now on sale for the Dock Park show from dgArts at the Midsteeple 01387 253383 – £8 in advance or £10 at Dock Park on the day. Under 16s only £4. Adult tickets for people coming by public transport from outwith D&G are £5.
Free full colour Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival brochures are available in public places. If you would like a copy posted to you please contact the Arts Festival office on 01387 260447. The full programme is also available online at www.dgartsfest.com .
