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Enchanted Forest Confirms Record Visitors and Charitable Contribution

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The Enchanted Forest, Perthshire’s multi-award winning sound and light show, has confirmed today that just over 73,000 visitors attended this year’s sold-out show, which closed on Sunday night, a 4% increase on the previous record-breaking year. Event organisers have also confirmed that its three official charities – Tayside Mountain Rescue, Alzheimer Scotland and Giraffe – have each received a donation of £2500 with proceeds from the dedicated charity night held on the opening night.

Oir an Uisge, Gaelic for Edge of the Water captured the public’s imagination around the globe with international visitors one of the fastest growing audience segments for the event this year. International visitors have jumped from around 0.97% of audience share in 2014 to 2.72% of audience share in 2017, and with more than 75% citing their main reason for travelling to Scotland was to see The Enchanted Forest, they represented more than 15 different countries.

The growth in the profile of the event in recent years saw it take the title for the UK’s Best Cultural Event last winter and it is also up for a coveted Visit Scotland Thistle Award later this year. As has almost become the norm it has again broken all previous box office records and, for the first time, tickets sold out prior to the show opening on 28th September. Over 10,000 customers have since signed up for advance notice of when 2018 tickets will go on sale.

Reflecting the changing landscape of Forestry Commission Scotland’s Faskally Wood, this year the creatives behind the show took inspiration from the natural setting with dazzling visuals including a multitude of spectacular water effects, state of the art lighting technologies and exciting new artist installations. Oir an Uisge also featured a musical score that combined contemporary with traditional and which has proved a hit with visitors.

It is estimated that The Enchanted Forest’s impact on the local tourism economy is around £3 million per annum with around 54% of visitors to the event this year choosing to stay overnight in the area on their visit and over 93% citing the event as their main reason for visiting the area this Autumn.
Ian Sim, chairman of The Enchanted Forest Community Trust, which operates the event, said:

“Once again The Enchanted Forest Community Trust, the charity that runs The Enchanted Forest, is completely blown away by the response to the event. We’re delighted it has smashed yet another of its own box office records. This is very much an event run by the community of Highland Perthshire and the team behind it are really exceptional, from the creatives team who devise the concept, our new show producer Zoe Squair and brilliant operations team and to the stewards who stand out in the woods night after night during the month of October. The Enchanted Forest’s success is testimony to their hard work and commitment to providing a top quality experience for our thousands of customers.”

“We’re also extremely please that the event has also been able to contribute to three very worthwhile charities and support them in their work in the community. Tayside Mountain Rescue, Alzheimer Scotland and Giraffe have all received donations of £2500 each thanks to a sell-out charity event on our opening night.”

The Enchanted Forest returns in 2018 and people can sign up for advance notification of when tickets go on sale at www.enchantedforest.org.uk

Picture of The Enchanted Forest

Enchanted Forest Ticket Sales Hit 50,000 Mark

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Ticket sales for this year’s Enchanted Forest have smashed through the 50,000 mark this week, making ‘Oir an Uisge’ the fastest selling show in the event’s 16-year history. Event organisers, The Enchanted Forest Community Trust, released a record 72,000 tickets and fully expect that, for the first year, the event will sell out completely before the opening night.

Ian Sim, chairman of The Enchanted Forest Community Trust, said:

“This year’s ‘Oir an Uisge’ show is set to be stunning and will show Faskally Wood and its loch in a whole new light, quite literally. We can’t emphasise strongly enough that people should buy tickets in advance to ensure they secure a chance to visit.”

This month has also seen the launch of the Voice of The Enchanted Forest competition, calling for children aged between 5 and 12 to record a script to be used during the month-long event at Pitlochry’s Faskally Wood this October.

Telephone auditions are currently open to find the winning Voice, which will appear in a recording to be played to tens of thousands of visitors as they travel by bus from Pitlochry to the forest for the event. The Voice will welcome visitors to the forest and remind them of some important health and safety messages.

The competition is being run in conjunction with Bauer Radio and its Radio Tay, Radio Forth and Radio Clyde stations. The winner will record a pre-written script at one of the three radio stations, get VIP access to the station, and be guest of honour at the show’s special preview night on 27th September.To enter the competition, call 01738 700140 and follow the audition instructions or go to www.tayfm.co.uk, www.forth1.com and www.clyde1.com. Details are also at www.enchantedforest.org.uk. The competition runs until midnight on September 12th.‘Oir an Uisge’ opens to the public on Thursday September 28th with proceeds from that night benefiting three charities: Tayside Mountain Rescue, Alzheimer Scotland and Giraffe.

Tickets and more information on The Enchanted Forest are available on www.enchantedforest.org.uk

The Enchanted Forest announces £500 bat box donation to boost Faskally’s ecology

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A generous donation from The Enchanted Forest will benefit Highland Perthshire’s bat population.

The multi-award-winning sound and light show has donated £500 to Tayside Bat Group (TBG) to install around 30 bat boxes in Faskally Wood, near Pitlochry.

The boxes will be put in place by TBG volunteers at the beginning of September in a strip of trees along the edge of the loch.

Brian Simpson, Enchanted Forest Trustee, said: “As a charitable trust we are delighted to be able to direct proceeds towards this important Tayside conservation organisation.

“As the show goes from strength to strength, it is extremely heartening to be able to support the ecology in Faskally Wood which is so important to the continued success of The Enchanted Forest.”

Forest Enterprise Scotland’s Environment Manager in the area, Graeme Findlay, welcomed the donation.

He continued: “We’re delighted to be involved in this partnership and the work to help bats locally.

“The forest already provides suitable habitat for a range of bat species but these boxes will increase available roosting sites for them.

“It’s great that the event organisers are helping biodiversity like this and we’re working with the other partners to look at what wider biodiversity benefits the event might have for the local area.”

The Enchanted Forest employs Scotland’s premier creative talents to produce a state-of-the art show set against the stunning natural backdrop of Faskally Wood near Pitlochry every Autumn.

The 2017 show – entitled Oir an Uisge, Scots Gaelic for ‘Edge of the Water’ –  is led by the multi-award-winning creative team of Zoe Squair as producer, Kate Bonney and Simon Hayes as lighting designers, and RJ McConnell and Jon Beales providing sound design and composition.

Tickets are already selling fast and customers are advised to book early this year to avoid disappointment.

Tricia Fox, marketing manager of The Enchanted Forest, commented: “Demand for tickets grows year on year and I cannot emphasise strongly enough that people should buy tickets in advance to ensure they secure a chance to visit this year.”

Now in its 16th year, The Enchanted Forest has won numerous awards, most recently being crowned winner of the coveted Best Cultural Event at the UK Events Awards in London last winter. The event also holds the current title of Best Large Event and the Chairman’s Award, and is three times winner of Best Cultural Event at the Scottish Event Awards.

The Enchanted Forest takes place from Thursday, September 28 to Sunday, October 29 at Faskally Wood near Pitlochry. Tickets will be on sale to the public from Friday, June 16 at 10am at www.enchantedforest.org.uk

Tickets for the Charity Night on Thursday, September 28 will also be available to book by visiting www.enchantedforest.org.uk/charity

 

ENCHANTED FOREST COMMUNITY TRUST FUNDS 13 LOCAL PROJECTS

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The Enchanted Forest Community Trust, organisers of the award-winning sound and light show in the woods, has awarded a whopping £10,000 to a range of worthy projects in Highland Perthshire.

This is the fourth year that such a fund has been available, and the good causes range from a Girl Guide trip to Switzerland, to a Christmas Market in Pitlochry, and the purchase of new Neighbourhood Watch signs. Full list as follows:

£1,600 – Highland Mainline Community Partnership.

£1,500 – The Atholl Centre.

£1,200 – Pitlochry Winter Lighting Project.

£1,000 – Soldiers of Killiecrankie.

£1,000 – Pitlochry Paths Group.

£600 – Pitlochry in Bloom.

£550 – Pitlochry Baptist Church.

£500 – Pitlochry and Blair Atholl Bagpipe Band.

£500 – March Into Pitlochry Music Festival.

£500 – Pitlochry Christmas Market.

£500 – Girlguiding Dunkeld and Pitlochry.

£300 – Biodynamic garden at Camserney.

£250 – Pitlochry and District Neighbourhood Watch.

The 2016 show, shimmer, marked The Enchanted Forest’s 15th year and has been widely hailed by visitors as the best event to date with many visitors taking to social media channels to express their delight at the spectacle. Just over 70,000 visitors attended last year’s show, a 13% increase on the previous record-breaking year.

It is estimated that the event’s impact on the local tourism economy is in excess of £3 million per annum with around 50% of all visitors to the event choosing to stay overnight in the area on their visit and over 90% citing the event as their main reason for visiting the area in Autumn.

Scotland’s premier sound and light show is a three-time winner of Best Cultural Event at the Scottish Event Awards and was recently crowned winner of the Rural Tourism & Hospitality Award at the 2016 Scottish Rural Awards.

Ian Sim, Chairman of The Enchanted Forest, said:

“2016’s shimmer extravaganza saw more people visiting The Enchanted Forest than ever before. This incredible support means we are able to fund a host of exciting local community projects. We’re delighted that our show helps make all of these projects possible, and visitors should feel proud that, just by visiting the show, they have done their bit to give back to the community and benefit the local area.”

This year’s Enchanted Forest will run from September 28 to October 29 and tickets will go on sale to the public in June 2017.

The Enchanted Forest charities receive four figure donations

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The Enchanted Forest, Perthshire’s multi-award winning sound and light show, presented each of the three 2016 charities with £5,000, following their successful charity evening opening night from this year’s show shimmer.

Three charities: Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance, Kidney Kids Scotland and British Heart Foundation were all selected to benefit from this year’s show through ticket sales for the event’s opening night, which took place on Thursday 29th September. They each received a cheque for £5,000, bringing the total charitable donation from the 2016 show £15,000.

Karen Aycan, Trustee of The Enchanted Forest Community Trust, presented the cheques. She commented:

“Not only does The Enchanted Forest light up Faskally Wood every October, boosting tourist trade in the quieter months, but it also lights up the lives of the Scottish community through our charity donations. We’re delighted to open the show each year with a special charity night, directing proceeds towards three highly important organisations in Scotland. As we grow, so does our ability to help different charities, which is extremely heartening.”

Receiving the cheque on behalf of Kidney Kids Scotland, Karen MacFarlane, Community Fundraiser, said:

“Kidney Kids Scotland were absolutely thrilled to be chosen as one of The Enchanted Forest charities for 2016 and are extremely grateful for their generous donation. The money raised will help children and their families from across the country suffering from renal and urological illness both directly and through our support for the paediatric renal services in Scottish hospitals.”

Murray Easton, Area Fundraising Manager for Scotland at British Heart Foundation commented:

“This is a fantastic donation from The Enchanted Forest and one which will go towards helping save lives in Scotland. Sadly, heart disease touches many families and it was wonderful to know that the families who came to enjoy the charity night were helping raise money for our life saving research.”

Fiona Dennis, Community Fundraiser at Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance, said:

“SCAA is extremely grateful for this support and for a donation that could mean the difference between life and death for someone in desperate need of an air ambulance when speed and urgent medical attention are critical factors in their chance of survival.”

The Enchanted Forest, which was recently crowned Best Cultural Event at the UK Event Awards, was once more headed up by the multi-award-winning creative team of Derek Allan as producer and creative director, Kate Bonney and Simon Hayes as lighting designers, and RJ McConnell and Jon Beales providing sound design and composition. Additional creative expertise was provided by leading creative companies including NL Productions, Squid Soup, 59 Productions and Vision Mechanics.

The 2016 show, shimmer, marked The Enchanted Forest’s 15th year and has been widely hailed by visitors as the best event to date with many visitors taking to social media channels to express their delight at the spectacle. Just over 70,000 visitors attended this year’s show, a 13% increase on the previous record-breaking year.

It is estimated that the event’s impact on the local tourism economy is expected to exceed £3 million per annum with around 50% of all visitors to the event choosing to stay overnight in the area on their visit and over 90% citing the event as their main reason for visiting the area this Autumn.

More information on The Enchanted Forest is available on www.enchantedforest.org.uk

The Enchanted Forest secures place as one of the nation’s top tourism events as it’s named Best Cultural Event in the U.K.

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Scotland’s premier sound and light show, The Enchanted Forest, secured its place as one of the U.K.’s top tourism events after winning Best Cultural Event at the U.K. Event Awards.

The Pitlochry based show, which recently celebrated its 15th anniversary with a record 70,000 visitors, beat off stiff competition at The Drum awards, including the Magical Lantern Festival London and Diwali Festival of Lights, at Thursday night’s ceremony in London.

The win, for The Enchanted Forest’s 2015 show FLUX, is the latest in a long line of awards for the Perthshire event, which recently swept the board at the Scottish Event Awards, picking up no less than three titles.

The Enchanted Forest has grown from a 3-night run and 1500 visitors when it launched to becoming an event that attracts visitors and media attention from across the globe. Each October the show turns Pitlochry’s Faskally Wood into an other-worldly experience, funds local community grants and boosts the local economy to the tune of more than £2 million. Last year’s FLUX show funded 27 community grants for local initiatives, as well as donating money to three chosen charities.

The Enchanted Forest has built up a strong, ever-growing audience by changing theme each year and bringing together the cream of the crop of the U.K. arts scene. FLUX combined the creative talents of producer and creative director Derek Allan, lighting designers Kate Bonney and Simon Hayes, and composers and sound designers RJ McConnell and Jon Beales

This year’s show, shimmer, sold out six days after opening and more than 90% of visitors recently cited The Enchanted Forest as their main reason for visiting the Pitlochry area.

Ian Sim, chairman of The Enchanted Forest Community Trust that runs The Enchanted Forest, commented:

“We’re absolutely thrilled by this accolade. Being named the U.K.’s Best Cultural Event underscores all the hard work that goes into not only putting on The Enchanted Forest, but keeping it fresh each year. People travel from all over the world for the show and it generates lots of positive press for Highland Perthshire. We’re proud to be driving tourists ‘into the woods’ of Pitlochry at what has always been a traditionally quiet time of year.

“A huge thanks must go to the hard-working and talented team behind the show, from technicians, stewards and volunteers to the producers and creatives, and also our marketing agency Volpa.”

The Enchanted Forest picked up three titles at the annual Scottish Event Awards ceremony in October: Best Large Event; the prestigious Chairman’s Award; and Best Marketing & PR Strategy for its marketing agency Volpa.

For more information visit www.enchantedforest.org.uk.

The Enchanted Forest reveals over 70,000 visitors attend 15th anniversary show

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The Enchanted Forest, Perthshire’s multi-award winning sound and light show, has confirmed today that just over 70,000 visitors attended this year’s 15th anniversary show, which closed on Sunday night, a 13% increase on the previous record-breaking year.

The 2016 show, shimmer, marked The Enchanted Forest’s 15th year and has been widely hailed by visitors as the best event to date with many visitors taking to social media channels to express their delight at the spectacle.

This year’s event broke all previous box office records, not only in ticket sales volumes, but also in speed of sale, with tickets selling out for this year’s show on 5th October, leaving many customers who had hadn’t planned to purchase in advance desperate for tickets.

It is estimated that the event’s impact on the local tourism economy is expected to exceed £3 million per annum with around 50% of all visitors to the event choosing to stay overnight in the area on their visit and over 90% citing the event as their main reason for visiting the area this Autumn.

Ian Sim, acting chairman of The Enchanted Forest Community Trust that runs The Enchanted Forest, commented:

“Once again an event that is run by the community, for the community, has excelled in driving tourism in Highland Perthshire during a traditionally quiet time of year and in putting Pitlochry firmly on the map. People have travelled from all over the world to see this year’s show and it has generated media interest from journalists in the USA, Canada, India, Russia and Australia as well as mainland Europe.

“This is a tremendous success for Highland Perthshire tourism businesses and we are deeply encouraged by the continued support of our visitors, many of them who return to the Forest year after year. It is a testimony to the hard work put in by the community that our visitors number continue to grow year on year, and that our show continues to go from strength to strength.”

The Enchanted Forest was once more headed up by the multi-award-winning creative team of Derek Allan as producer and creative director, Kate Bonney and Simon Hayes as lighting designers, and RJ McConnell and Jon Beales providing sound design and composition. Additional creative expertise was provided by leading creative companies including NL Productions, Squid Soup, 59 Productions and Vision Mechanics.

The event has won a string of awards this year including Best Large Event and the Chairman’s Award at the Scottish Event Awards, as well as the Tourism & Hospitality Award at the Scottish Rural Awards. It is also shortlisted for Best Cultural Event at the UK Event Awards, a prestigious Scottish Thistle Award for Best Event and a Perthshire Chamber of Commerce Business Start Award for Tourism & Leisure, the results of which will all be revealed at events later this month.

To help meet the growing demand, the show organisers have now opened up a mailing list for customers who wish to be notified about tickets going on sale for the 2017 show. For more information visit www.enchantedforest.org.uk.

THE ENCHANTED FOREST ATTRACTS INTERNATIONAL STORYTELLERS TO TELL TALES

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Some lucky visitors to The Enchanted Forest this year, will be given regaled with tales from around the world with two internationally renowned storytellers set to join the event’s in house storytellers for a special guest appearance.

On Saturday 15th October, Finnish Storyteller Markus Luukkonen will join Highland Perthshire storyteller Claire Hewitt in her cosy storytelling yurt to share a tale with her. Markus is on a three-month storytelling residency in Scotland. He is a founder member of Finnish Storytelling Association called Samova Ry and also a founder member and storyteller of touring Storytelling Theatre called Erämaateatteri (Wilderness Theatre).

A second visit from Finland will take place on Saturday 29th October, this time from Finnish storyteller Anna-Maria Toivonen, who will join Claire for a special evening of stories and songs from the North of the world in the yurt.

This is not the first time Claire has been joined by storytelling colleagues from around the world, many of whom travel to Scotland for the annual Scottish International Storytelling Festival which this year runs from 21st – 31st October. This annual celebration of traditional and contemporary storytelling brings together artists and audiences from across the world to entertain and inspire with live storytelling performances and fun family activities.

Ian Sim, chairman of The Enchanted Forest Community Trust commented:

“The Enchanted Forest is a unique opportunity for visitors to really see the forest brought to life and the storytelling yurt is a very popular feature for our younger visitors. We are delighted that we are able to welcome such world renowned storytellers, Markus and Anna-Marie, to join with Claire in making these two very special evenings indeed.”

The 15th anniversary show, shimmer, is now sold out and will run throughout the month of October although tickets have now sold out. For more information on the event and to sign up for advance notification of tickets for 2017 visit www.enchantedforest.org.uk.

The Enchanted Forest sweeps the board at The DRUM’s Scottish Event Awards

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Scotland’s premier sound and light show, The Enchanted Forest, has swept the board at this year’s Scottish Event Awards, picking up three titles at the annual awards ceremony this year held at the Radisson Blu in Glasgow including the prestigious Chairman’s Award.

A three times winner of Best Cultural Event at The Scottish Event Awards, the Pitlochry based sound and light show has now added Best Large Event to its accolades, fighting off stiff competition from fellow nominees Edinburgh’s Christmas, The Royal Highland Show, Spectra Aberdeen’s Festival of Light and Virgin Money Street of Light to take the title. It’s marketing agency, Volpa, scooped the title for Best Event Marketing & PR Strategy, the third time they’ve taken that title in the history of the awards. However the cherry on the top of the cake came at the end of the evening when the team were announced as winners of the prestigious Chairman’s Award, chosen from amongst the 29 category winners.

Derek Allan, producer of The Enchanted Forest commented:

“Last night was really an amazing evening. Not only did we find out just before the awards ceremony began that this year’s show, Shimmer, had sold out of all tickets making it the fastest selling show ever, to win three awards on the evening was unexpected and simply fabulous.  It’s testimony to the hard work and input from the Pitlochry community that have made The Enchanted Forest such an amazing success and when you see it holding its own on a national platform alongside some of the nation’s biggest events, it’s a real moment of pride. Perthshire, as a region also did very well on the night with awards picked up by Blair Atholl Estates, Volpa and Horsecross Arts too. All in all, it was a very good evening for the region and its cultural event offering. Very fitting for the plans for Perth’s UK City of Culture Bid.”

Record breaking visitor numbers have continued to fuel the success of The Enchanted Forest which is now firmly recognised as a major driver of tourism for Scotland. The event’s international profile has catapulted the Victorian town of Pitlochry onto an international stage and press coverage around the globe attracts visitors from around the world to the sound and light spectacle which humbly has its roots firmly planted in the nearby forest of Faskally Wood.

The Enchanted Forest is once more headed up by the multi-award-winning creative team of Derek Allan as producer and creative director, Kate Bonney and Simon Hayes as lighting designers, and RJ McConnell and Jon Beales providing sound design and composition. Additional creative expertise was provided by leading creative companies including NL Productions, Squid Soup, 59 Productions and Vision Mechanics.

The 15th anniversary show, shimmer, is currently running throughout the month of October although tickets have now sold out. For more information and to book tickets visit www.enchantedforest.org.uk.

The Enchanted Forest shortlisted for Thistle Award

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Scotland’s premier sound and light show, The Enchanted Forest, has been shortlisted for Best Event or Festival for the third year running at the regional heats of the Scottish Thistle Awards, announced on Friday. A previous winner of the national title for Best Event or Festival, this is the third shortlisting in a row for this popular Autumn event.

The event, which launched its 15th show last week, called SHIMMER, features original music and a series of fantastic light displays devised by some of the country’s top creative talent. This year’s event runs until Friday 30th October but, with over 50,000 tickets sold already, organisers are urging people to book soon if they don’t want to miss out on the spectacle which has become a mainstay of Scotland’s Autumn calendar.

Run by a Pitlochry based charitable trust, The Enchanted Forest brings in an estimated £2 million to the local economy every year and donates its proceeds to other local groups and charities.

Ian Sim, acting chairman for The Enchanted Forest Community Trust, said:

“The Enchanted Forest team are very excited to be shortlisted for a prestigious Thistle Award for the third running, a testimony to the event’s standing in the Scottish tourism calendar. Every year The Enchanted Forest continues to evolve and we are very proud of the success the event has had and that so many people travel up to Highland Perthshire as a result. As a previous winner of a Scottish Thistle Award, we can wholeheartedly say that the accolade is one which helps to increase the profile of the businesses who win, as much as reward the hard work and efforts of the teams involved.”

The Enchanted Forest is once more headed up by the multi-award-winning creative team of Derek Allan as producer and creative director, Kate Bonney and Simon Hayes as lighting designers, and RJ McConnell and Jon Beales providing sound design and composition. Additional creative expertise was provided by leading creative companies including NL Productions, Squid Soup, 59 Productions and Vision Mechanics.

For more information and to book tickets visit www.enchantedforest.org.uk.