Events & Festivals
One tried and tested means of promoting a community or locality is to hold a themed festival or event. Skye and Lochalsh has hosted a number of food and drink related events over the years, all of them leading to increased press coverage, more visitors and new opportunities for food and tourism businesses.
Incredible Edibles 2006
This event, a ‘food themed fun day’ was held to promote local produce & healthy eating, with the aim of involving the public.
The cinema auditorium of Aros Vistor Centre was used for the cookery challenge in the morning, followed by other
events in the gallery and meeting rooms. The cookery went down well with members of the audiencewho were very keen to sample the dishes.
Agnes Bessant (Dunvegan Primary School Cook) took to the stage with seven pupils from the school to make pancakes and soup. Agnes was very organised and the children had a great time assisting with the demos; she was ‘a natural’ performer as she chatted to the audience and supervised the cookery. Tasting of the soup and pancakes was very popular, and the title of ‘Please Miss, may I have some more?’ turned out to be most appropriate!
Visitors expressed surprise at the range of local produce available and appreciated the
chance to taste the quality of food that goes to top restaurants. The Bush Tucker
Challenge was very popular and the mystery ingredients in some of the foods intrigued
both adults and children.
Tomato plants grown by SLHDA members were a useful gift for the children who were interested in healthy food; this project was followed up by SLHDA with children reporting back on their success. Talks by Shirley Spear, Steve Birch and Claire Macdonald were all very popular. Increased awareness of the range and quality of local produce brought more enquiries about deliveries to households.
The outdoor farmers’ market comprised five producers, which was quite an achievement for April. Overall, the event was regarded as a success; some very favourable comments have been made and it has been suggested that it could become an annual event.
A Taste of Local Food Awards 2005-ongoing
The Taste of Local Food Awards was recently established and recognises the level of usage of local food in businesses around the area. Businesses are nominated for the Awards by Food Link producer members so it is peer group recognition, made public by the use of the Award symbol.
Dunvegan Show 2006
The stalls at the show were placed in a rather dark marquee which perhaps wasn’t as
inviting as it could have been, but once visitors were tempted to step inside, the free
samples of local chocolates, local blueberries and fruit snack bars were well received.
A significant number of the visitors to the show were from overseas but they were
interested to find out about the local produce they could try whilst here. Take up of
leaflets was very poor; this may have been due to the high percentage of holidaymakers.
Portree Show 2005 & 2006
Skye and Lochalsh Food Link attended the show, using the Food Link van as a display area for leaflets and newsletters, this attracted some interest from families keen to find local produce. In 2006 it looked unlikely that the van would be at the show so the Skye and Lochalsh Horticultural Development Association offered space in their gazebo, adjacent to their stall, for this show.
The van did go to the show after all, but it was useful to share space
with the SLHDA as the leaflets of both organisations, a selection of healthy eating
leaflets, plus fruits for tasting and produce for sale made a good display and attracted
plenty of interest.
A tempting selection of raspberries, red, white and blackcurrants, gooseberries and blueberries were available for tasting. Tasting of these fruits was extremely popular, perhaps surprisingly so as locally made chocolates were also on offer. A number of small children tasted the less familiar fruits such as the white currants and enjoyed them, perhaps they found them less sour than the older children and adults did because very small children consume less added sugar.
Great Taste of Skye & Lochalsh 2002-6
One of the exciting things about the Great Taste of Skye and Lochalsh is that it was started by a local business, Isle of Skye Seafoods as a stand alone event at the first food festival. Developing promote the fantastic range of produce available in the local area. The event ran for four years, bringing together world-class chefs demonstrating how to cook the best of local produce, producers showing how to prepare or eat their goodies, tastings, and a whole host of other activities which created a fun day out for all the family.
Talisker Skye & Lochalsh Food and Drink Festival 1999 - 2004
The original Skye and Lochalsh Food and Drink Festival was held in 1999 and was a joint project between Skye & Lochalsh Enterprise, The Highland Council, Highlands of Scotland Tourist Board and LEADER II. A steering group was established to oversee its development and a part-time co-ordinator was key in its success. Its purpose was to increase the use of local produce and promote Skye and Lochalsh as a high quality food destination and attract visitors in the shoulder season.
Held over four days, 71 businesses registered to be involved in the Festival and were included in the programme and given promotional material. Six main events provided the core and various businesses and organisations laid on smaller but equally interesting events.
Feedback from participants focused on the need for it to be a long-term project but it was estimated to have achieved about £50,000 worth of media coverage.
Various aspects of the Festival changed gradually, with it becoming much more driven by the private sector. This was chiefly through substantial sponsorship from Talisker Distillery, the only distillery in the Isle of Skye. One of the other significant changes was to employ a professional PR firm to create press releases and other publicity around the Festival. This was very successful with the result that, in conjunction with other activities, Skye and Lochalsh was recognised very firmly as a destination for people who were interested in high quality and local food.
Sustainability of any such festival remains a challenge and with the main sponsor changing the focus of their marketing budget and the steady reduction in public sector support, it was decided that the 2004 Festival would be the last in that form.