Community events will benefit from more than £70,000 of funding over the next four years thanks to the Crieff Succeeds BID.
The organisation was established to boost the town’s business and culture and has vowed to support local projects, from the arts to business grants.
The latest sign of its commitment came with the weekend’s Crieff Highland Gathering, which saw the pipe band competition backed with a £3,000 grant.
In total, the town’s new business development organisation has already paid out £10,000 this year alone, with the aim of boosting visitor numbers and developing its reputation as a tourism destination.
The business improvement district (BID) team awarded £3,000 to Crieff Science Festival and almost £2,000 to Kids’ Week, which took place in the town last month.
It also backed the Crieff Arts Festival with a £2,200 grant and supported Crieff Hogmanay to the tune of £610.
Organisers are now in talks to offer financial support to one of the community’s biggest events – the Drovers’ Tryst Walking Festival.
The 2016 event will run from October 8 to 15 and is expected to attract thousands of visitors to the town and surrounding area.
Each year it celebrates the cattle drovers who made Crieff one of the most important places in Scotland during the 1700s, when the Crieff Tryst was one of the largest cattle markets in the land.
It has become one of Scotland’s most popular walking festivals and the BID hopes that its support will help to broaden its appeal even further.
Though Crieff Succeeds BID has been working hard to identify the best possible ways to spend its money, interim manager, Alan Rankin, said the organisation welcomed new applications.
He said: “Crieff Succeeds BID is all about promoting Crieff to new audiences across Scotland and putting our town and all it has to offer in the spotlight.
“We were delighted to see our grant money being put to good use last weekend to support Crieff Highland Gathering and we welcome applications from more events and businesses who are doing good things for Crieff.
“Crieff Succeeds BID plans to invest a further £70,000 in grants with local event organisers over the next four years.”
Those wishing to submit an application should email alan.crieffsucceeds@gmail.com.
