Paisley’s national festival The Spree to benefit from EventScotland’s National Funding Programme

Edinburgh, Scotland, 2017-Aug-12 — /Travel PR News/ —

The Spree – Paisley’s national festival, which this year is from 13 to 22 October – is amongst 14 forthcoming events taking place across the country which are benefitting from a share of £145,500 in the latest awards round of EventScotland’s National Funding Programme.

The event, which is now in its sixth year and is part of Paisley’s bid to be UK City of Culture 2021, has been awarded £10,500 which is being used for marketing and to enhance the programme in order to increase attendance figures and improve the overall visitor experience. The Spree received £15,000 from the National Funding Programme in 2012 for its inaugural event and a further £20,000 in 2013.

This year’s Spree features a fantastic range of quality entertainment including great music, comedy and film screenings as well as a series of exciting and unique experiences.

The opening concert, ‘A Musical Tapestry’, on 13 October in The Spiegeltent – where much of the festival’s action takes place – offers a distinctive fusion of Celtic and Indian sounds. The Spree is twinned with one of India’s Rajasthan International Folk Festival (RIFF), so in celebration of two cities’ close links and their cloth-making and textiles heritage – plus the Paisley Pattern itself – musical and digital ‘tapestries are being created. Traditional Indian and Scottish music will be woven together for a performance at the opening concerts of both RIFF and The Spree. Respected artists Ross Ainslie, Blue Rose Code and Angus Lyon play in the collaboration which will be recorded for BBC Radio Scotland’s flagship folk, acoustic and roots programme to be broadcast on 18 October.

On 17 October the stunning surroundings of Paisley Abbey provide the setting for another unique collaboration – this time between Scottish indie act Frightened Rabbit and The Royal Scottish National Orchestra. And on 20 October, Paisley’s own Paolo Nutini will also be at Paisley Abbey to top the bill for The Spree with an exclusive one-off charity concert to back the town’s UK City of Culture 2021 bid. All public tickets for the 550-capacity gig have now sold out.

Paisley 2021 bid director Jean Cameron said: “The Spree has gone from strength to strength in recent years and is now firmly established as a key date in Scotland’s festival calendar.

“This year is shaping up to the be the best yet, with a number of unique performances in support of Paisley’s bid to be UK City of Culture 2021, as well as what will be two very special headline shows from Paolo Nutini and Frightened Rabbit in the stunning setting of Paisley Abbey.

“We are delighted to be working with our colleagues at Event Scotland on the event again, and with their support we hope to showcase Paisley and The Spree to new audiences.”

VisitScotland Regional Partnerships Director Annique Armstrong said: “This flagship annual festival is a real asset to Paisley’s cultural offering; it demonstrates the town’s ability to host large-scale events which will attract audiences from throughout the country.I’m delighted it was selected as a funding award recipient, especially during this crucial period when the town positions itself as most deserving of the UK City of Culture title.

“These awards provide invaluable support for regional events create an even more attractive proposition to attract spectators – which in turn boosts the area’s reputation. The National Funding Programme plays a vital role in maintaining Scotland’s reputation as a great destination for events that celebrate our culture and heritage whilst delivering real economic benefits to their local communities.”

The National Funding Programme supports the strategic delivery of events taking place outside Edinburgh and Glasgow with the aim of driving domestic tourism, delivering economic impact for local communities, and generating media profile for Scotland.

Enabling existing events to expand what they offer visitors, extend their marketing reach and enhance the on-site experience of attendees are just some of the ways that National Funding Programme support is used to help regional events continue to flourish and grow further. This in turn strengthens Scotland’s overall events portfolio – a major contributor to our national economy.

The National Funding Programme plays a vital role in maintaining Scotland’s reputation as the ‘perfect stage’ for events. The programme is key to ensuring that the country has an exciting, vibrant portfolio of annual events promoting Scotland’s cultural heritage and delivering positive for local communities.

The full list of events which received support in the latest (Round 35) awards from EventScotland’s National Funding Programme is as follows:

• British Transplant Games, North Lanarkshire: 27 – 30 July (£25,000)
• MugStock Festival, East Dunbartonshire: 28 – 31 July (£6,000)
• Aberdeen Mela, Aberdeenshire: 30 July (£9,700)
• European Dodgeball Championships 2017, Wishaw: 8 – 20 August (£9,500)
• Scotland’s Salmon Festival, Highlands: 29 August – 2 September (£5,856)
• St Andrews Photography Festival, Fife: 1 – 30 September (£5,500)
• Electric Fields, Dumfries & Galloway: 1 – 2 September (£11,500)
• Skyline Scotland, Highlands: 1 – 3 September (£12,000)
• Bo’ness Revival, Falkirk: 2 – 3 September (£8,500)
• BOWFest, Argyll: 8 – 10 September (£6,000)
• The Highland Military Tattoo, Highlands: 8 – 10 September (£19,000)
• Loch Ness Knit Fest 2017 , Highlands: 13 – 15 October (£10,500)
• The Spree, Renfrewshire: 13 – 22 October (£10,500)
• Colours of Cluny, Moray Speyside: 8 – 19 November (£6,000)

For more information on The Spree and to book tickets visit: http://www.thespree.co.uk/

Notes to Editors

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2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology

• 2017 is the year to delve into the past and discover Scotland’s fascinating stories through a wide-ranging variety of new and existing activity to drive the nation’s tourism and events sector, boosting tourism across Scotland.
• The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology begins on 1 January 2017 and will end on 31 December 2017. It will build on the momentum generated by previous themed years in Scotland including the 2015 Year of Food and Drink, Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural.
• The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is a Scottish Government initiative being led by VisitScotland, and supported by a variety of partners including Creative Scotland, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Built Environment Forum Scotland, Heritage Lottery Fund, Museums Galleries Scotland and Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland.
• The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is supported by £570,000 of Scottish Government funding.
• The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology events fund is managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.
• For more information visit visitscotland.com/HHA2017 or join the conversation at #HHA2017

For further information contact:
Ellen Drummond
VisitScotland Corporate Press Officer
T: 0141 566 4019
M: 07801 820757
E: ellen.drummond@visitscotland.com

Source: VisitScotland

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