Kirkcaldy needs a flagship event – one that is unique and brings people to town
One thought was aired more than once in discussions at the town’s food and drink festival at the weekend - we need more events like this.
The festival has been running for a decade at Fife College and was first launched by BID company, Kirkcaldy4All. It remains as popular as ever - folk were queued up ready for the doors to open at ten in the morning.
It was a great showcase for local food and drink businesses as well as a chance for the college to spotlight its own hospitality and catering students, and I’m pretty sure everyone who popped in spent a few quid. A win-win for all concerned.
So, how do we scale things up in Kirkcaldy? In his recent column on how the town’s £20million should be invested - and made to work for us - Tyrone Reekie called for a commitment for one major festival every year, working with the big promoters who make these things happen. He was 100% on the money.
Whether the content relates to food and drink, books, music or a glorious melting pot of everything creative - and Fife is awash with incredibly talented groups and individuals - this town needs that flagship event as its anchor.
Create something that defines the Lang Toun in the same way that books put Wingtownshire on the map, and we finally have our own USP.
There are many events and festivals across the district, but we need to raise the bar significantly and get this town on Scotland’s what’s on map. We have to give people a reason to come here.
The food festival formed part of Fife Food and Drink Week, but I’m not sure many folk even knew of that wider initiative. Shouldn’t that be on the radar of every cafe and venue in that sector?
The turnout underlined there is market for events which capture people’s interest, so let’s give people what they want - not what we think they want. There is a difference.
We can learn from a past that used to include a superb comedy festival, and a film festival, both of which have withered. In a town which boasts its own horror films studio and a host of exciting film-makers, why on earth are we not shouting long and loud about their passion, creativity, and movies?
And why are we not opening that up to a generation that has grown up making its own movies on Youtube and social media?
The opportunities are as great as we want them to be - we just need the right people at the helm with the vision to bring them to life, and add a crown jewel to the host of community initiatives that take place here all year round.
Imagine a Lang Toun Fest with a five-star showstopper as a headliner - a ‘wow’ factor that then lifts every single event on its listings up with it.
The phrase “nothing happens round here” needs to be deleted from every single conversation on social media. We do grassroots events superbly because enough people are willing to get off their butts and make them happen, and they all bring something different to the town.
We certainly have venues that can adapt to host many different events, and we have a core of groups with expertise at taking ideas and making them a reality. Amid the talk of transforming our town centre, we’re in danger missing an open goal by not talking now about creating a unique flagship festival. Let’s make it happen.