The first edition of what is hoped will become an annual fixture on the festival calendar is set to take place at Fife Airport, situated on the outskirts of Glenrothes on Sunday April 30.
Fife Council have already awarded £5,000 to contribute to costs, with organisers saying it will feature local vendors, a fairground, the “biggest international acts and the best homegrown Scottish talent.”
“We had to go through a few hoops to get there but the council were very open to it,” said organiser Jason Frew. “It’s more a collaboration with the council rather than ‘here’s some money, crack on and do it. It’s amazing to have that level of support.”
The coalition of promoters involved have previously put together respected dance festivals on land and at sea, such as Loch Lomond Sound System and Amsterdam Weekender.
A mixture of bands and DJs from the local area and beyond will take over the airport’s hangars for a multi-stage bill.
“We’ve been inundated. Since it went public, it has just been hectic. We’ve specifically been looking for bands, artists and DJs from Fife and you’ll see that when the lineup comes out.
“We’ve easily had over a thousand requests from the local area. It’s phenomenal. There’s a wealth of talent from Fife to be showcased, I haven’t really seen that happening elsewhere. We will be bringing in international talent too, of course.”
As policing and public safety costs continue to price events out, is Mr Frew confident they can overcome that particular hurdle?
“Without a doubt. It’s something we’ve had to price into the structure of things to begin with. If you can’t get to that point of ensuring it’s policed safely and covering costs, there’s no point in even trying.”
Although May-Day has aspirations to become a family-friendly event in the future, they’re approaching that goal with caution.
“We’ve had a bit of experience in the past with events where people have come with younger children without ear defenders or parents trying to navigate the site with a pram. Unfortunately that causes a health and safety concern. We’re aiming at over 16s at the moment.
“It would be fantastic to get to the point where people can bring their family and dog along. We’ve got a lot of lessons and procedures to learn first.”
Although Dalgety Bay’s PKD has been granted approval for 2017, the demise of Falkland’s Big Tent Festival and now T in the Park‘s withdrawal from the festival calendar has left Fifers and indeed Scots with far fewer opportunities to soak up a weekend of music.
“There’s also RockNess, Wickerman – too many Scottish festivals have stopped. I think these events possibly just became too big.
“We’ve been running smaller festivals across Scotland for years and have recently found that a huge proportion of the people who come are from Fife. It made sense to do something there. Rather than have people spending loads of money on travel, let’s do it in Fife. But we must make sure the formula is correct.”
“We’ve been looking for a site for four years. I went to One Big Weekend at Carlisle airport a few years ago, which was amazing. That gave me the idea. It’s a no-brainer.”
Estimates from Fife Council suggest that the festival could generate around £185,000 for the local economy in its first year.
A taste of the line up is set to be released by the end of December. Early bird tickets are currently available online at £25 via www.maydayfestival.co.uk.
