Findings from an 18-month period of consultation and research carried out by Big Burns Supper have highlighted a raft of new recommendations that the festival will implement ahead of the 2022 Festival.

More than 3,000 people have taken part in the consultation that included online events and surveys designed to engage more people in the festival programme, exploring themes like closing times, the climate emergency and accessibility.

The key recommendations are;

• Establish the festival as a Winter Fringe Festival with more space and time for local and visiting audiences to make more of the festival experience and destination.

• Higher levels of community engagement including the return of free community-based programmes like Dumfries Carnival which help offer opportunities to create multiculturalism.

• Sustain the global interest in the festival by continuing to programme online experiences and events that help position Dumfries as the home of Burns Night.

• Ban on single use plastics across the festival site and introduction of reusable polycarbonate cups.

• More comedy, family, theatre, dance and hybrid experiences presented at different times of the day to diversify the range of events on offer.

• Attract higher levels of public investment for increased capital and programme costs to help reduce the risk the festival charity assumes for the event.

• 10.30pm curfew midweek and no loud music after 12.30am at the weekend to help reduce negative perceptions of the festival.

• Make more use of empty buildings in Dumfries town centre as festival spaces by working in partnership with other organisations.

Full details of the new vision for the festival will be shared at the Annual General Meeting which takes place on 15^th September.

Details of the first acts for the festival will be announced on the 28th September.

Full details of the new vision for the festival will be shared at the Members Meeting which takes place on 15^th September from 6pm – 7.30pm at the Annual General Meeting.

You can register here

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