Over 26,000 visitors were drawn to Faskally Woods last year to see the latest The Enchanted Forest display from the Community Interest Company, Transformation. A show of light and sound taking place deep in the forest at night. The event alone attracted record numbers to Faskally last year and represented a 1.5 million buoy to the local economy. So why is next year's event facing funding difficulties?
In previous years, the gap in the show's finances was made up by funding from the local council, recognising the positive impact on the local area. However, government cutbacks have forced most local authorities to tighten their belts, with arts & culture often one of the first industries to suffer. Without public backing, The Enchanted Forest ran the show with a deficit of 40,000 in 2011 and is facing a similar bill without sponsorship for next year's event.
While CIC chairman, Eddie Thomson insists that despite the disparity in cash there is no threat the attraction will be forced to close. Although, he did make a passioned plea for local businesses to get involved with funding the show. Conducting a feedback survey with visitors, Thomson says that over 250 local businesses were mentioned by name. Restaurants and
hotels in Perthshire the most to benefit, with over half of attendees staying in the area over night.
With a shortfall of just 40k, each business named in the survey would just need to contribute 160 each to make the show viable. However, despite a multi-award winning year, there are yet to be any offers to sponsor the event. If the show continues to run at a loss then there is a chance that the CIC will be forced to move, with Manchester expressing an interest. There has also been talk of a move to the west of Scotland with a few
luxury Glasgow hotels happy to foot the bill to attract customers during quieter seasons.
There is due to be a meeting held at the Fishers Hotel, Pitlochry at 7pm on December 20 to discuss local funding of the Enchanted Forest. The event is held for the community, rather than a money making venture, with the idea of bringing people into Perthshire. Although local businesses are feeling the pinch, they would surely be mad to let this event be snapped up by another city.
