Outwith Festival confirms return to Fife in 2022
The music and arts event, which showcased film, music, comedy, literature, theatre and art across 23 venues in Dunfermline has confirmed it will run next year from September 6-11.
Outwith was one of many events cancelled in 2020 by the pandemic, and organisers are looking into the possibility of some taster events this year before its full return in 2022.
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Hide AdAs well as the impact of lockdown, Outwith no longer has the financial backing of Dunfermline Delivers, which folded last year, or a full time paid events manager.
It is now looking at new ways of generating revenue to showcase the widest possible range of creative talent.
The festival, which has doubled in size each year since it launched in 2017, was organised by Delivering Dunfermline’s Events Manager, Chris Foote, in partnership with Jane Livingstone and Michelle McWilliams from Avocado Sweet and Ian Moir from Fire Station Creative.
The team team of volunteers is forming a new structure, focused on promoting inclusive culture, music and artists in Dunfermline - and the fundraising now needs to ramp up for 2022 to fill the shortfall.
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Hide AdMichelle McWilliams said on behalf of the team: “There are challenges and we’ll need to look at clever ways of generating more revenue such as increased ticket income and fundraising from a wider range of sources.
“Fortunately, the team have all worked in professions essential for staging a festival and most of us are practising artists, writers and musicians.”
Some of the programming for the 2020 festival was already underway before it was cancelled, and the team will look at rescheduling some of that programming to 2022.
During Outwith 2019, audiences attended 74 film, music, comedy, literature, theatre and art events in 23 venues with over 300 performances.
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Hide AdIt was also a boon for Dunfermline’s economy, with the festival attracting more than 9,000 attendances and a spend of £334,000.
The economic impact report also found that the event was already attracting visitors from the rest of Scotland, the UK and overseas with over one in five festival-goers travelling from outside of Fife.