Funding boost for major event to mark Fife Show’s 200th anniversary

Councillors on north east Fife’s area committee agreed to use £10,000 from the local community planning budget towards this year’s event which will be held in Cupar on May 21.

Although the first Fife Show to encourage and showcase the breeding of livestock was held in 1821, COVID restrictions meant plans to celebrate the bicentenary had to be put on hold.

However, the 2022 event - dubbed 'Fife Show - The First 200 Years' - will bring people back together for the first time in 19 months and promises an affordable day out with a strong educational remit.

Traders will once again have a physical marketplace for their wares, including crafters and many food and drink producers, while exhibitors will have a shop window for their stock and the chance to compete.

Fife Show also works with organisations such as Fife Beekeepers, St Andrews Botanic Gardens and Cupar Bowmen to provide space for self-promotion, in return for putting on family friendly activities at the Show, while Elmwood College operates the Cookery Theatre and Cupar and District Pipe Band entertains visitors.

For 2022, a new Time Tunnel feature is planned, detailing the history of the Show and farming in Fife, with demonstrations and vintage machinery showing the journey of food from field to table.

A main ring display, in conjunction with Fife Vintage Club, will depict 200 years of farming and include everything from handheld implements through horsepower to vintage and modern-day machinery.

Community manager Donald Grant confirmed that a number of other grants had been secured by organisers, but the £10,000 contribution from the council’s local community planning budget will ensure the event can proceed.

“Two years of cancelled shows, combined with additional COVID compliance costs and one-off 200th anniversary expenditure has resulted in Fife Show seeking extra one-off funding,” he explained.

“The overall cost of the event is £130,000 and predicted income of £98,000 plus already committed grants of £10,500 leaves a deficit to be covered from other grant applications or from reserves.”