Montrose Music Festival is adding a new string to its bow for 2015 after landing a £5,000 windfall to be part of Scotland’s year of Food and Drink.
This year’s event will run from May 22 to 24 and feature more than 200 gigs across 26 venues in the town.
The volunteer-run festival has gone from strength to strength and organisers have been delighted to see it announced as the first Angus beneficiary of a slice of six-figure support.
Now in its eighth year, the festival is among those to receive a share of a £265,000 fund managed by VisitScotland’s event directorate, EventScotland.
The Year of Food and Drink event fund, which includes £150,000 contributed by the Community Food Fund, is dedicated to special events staged during the 12-month celebration of Scotland’s natural larder.
Montrose will join events such as Borders Book Festival, May’s Orkney Folk Festival and the Glasgow Science Festival in June in delivering a greater food focus.
Event secretary Anne Jenkins said: “MoFest is delighted to be part of the Year of Food and Drink. We’ve been looking to add another aspect to the festival and this is the perfect chance for us to work with local producers and expand the culinary experience.
“This year we will be creating a ‘market street’ area offering fresh produce to be enjoyed in our relaxed, al fresco dining area, complete with some acoustic music sets.”
Scotland’s cabinet secretary for food Richard Lochhead said: “The Year of Food and Drink is a brilliant opportunity to build on Homecoming 2014, and inspire the people of Scotland and our visitors to celebrate the exceptional food and drink we produce the length and breadth of our country.
“The programme will offer a unique taste of Scotland, and I am delighted that all funded events are being encouraged to increase their use of locally-sourced produce by signing up to the Food Charter.
“This will help to enhance our reputation as a land of food and drink and achieve my vision of Scotland becoming a Good Food Nation.”
The coming months will also see a number of events designed to inspire and engage diverse audiences with Scottish produce, including a Children’s Food Festival in the Highlands and Cakefest Edinburgh on June 21 at the city’s Royal Botanic Gardens.
Whisky Month will also return in May. Recent figures revealed Scotland’s food and drink tourism industry is worth an estimated £2.5m per day to the economy.
VisitScotland regional partnerships director Jim Clarkson said: “Scotland’s outstanding natural larder will be showcased over the next 12 months at events the length and breadth of the country, including the special events supported through the Year of Food and Drink event fund.
“This is a chance, not just for visitors to sample the best of our natural larder, but for people in Scotland to learn more about what is on our doorstep.”
All funded events will now go through a workshop to help develop their Scottish and local food and drink offering.