We are delighted to report that the 40^th Anniversary Festival went very well indeed and even exceeded our expectations in terms of ticket sales

Hoy Heritage Centre – Friends of Hoy Kirk

The project aimed to collect, research and share Orkney family legends about surnames and place names. These aims were all achieved.

The project collected 226 legends in a database (including some variants of the same story). These were drawn from both oral and written sources: Interviews with Orkney people, oral history audio archives at Orkney Archive and School of Scottish Studies, published books (e.g. George Marwick Yesnaby’s Master Storyteller), pamphlets (e.g. produced by heritage groups and projects), magazines (e.g. Sib Folk News) and websites.

Actual audience figures for the film screening were nearly 50% higher than forecast, and a 4.75/5 ping-pongometer score (our audience feedback system) was our highest for many years.

Our invited director Eva Charlotte Nilsen travelled with her husband and both were invited to be guests of honour for Norwegian Constitution Day on May 17th. Eva gave a speech outside St Magnus Cathedral and her husband Erik Bugge gave a speech at the dinner reception in the evening. This was a nice positive outcome which wasn't forecast and made their visit extra special.

The project is aimed at both local people and visitors to the islands.  The project benefits the people of Orkney directly, enabling them to participate in the storytelling and workshops, enjoying our own local storytellers and visiting professional performers. Visitors to the islands enjoy out-of-season activities that involve local traditions and culture. A collaborative story-telling event hosted at Stromness library for local teenagers was one of the fully-subscribed events (this was a donations only event, not paid tickets) - there was a waiting list in case spaces opened up.