Culture Fund 2023-2024: Westray Connections

Westray Connections for 2023 was a remarkably successful festival.  We built on the feedback of previous years, and ensured that each band had lots of exposure to the community and that tickets went on sale in Westray first. 

On the Friday night we had performances from the Harcus family, The Coupars, Laverick and some members of the Kirkwall city pipe band.  This concert was a sit down event, and was very well received by members of the community.  The event was finished in good time and artists and community members were encouraged to go to the Pierowall Hotel for an informal ‘jam’ session.  The Coupars were remarkable and really embraced this venue. 

The Saturday taster sessions were very crowded, with events at Kalisgarth care facility, Saintear pub and bistro, and the Silo at Chalmersquoy followed by a parade through the village by the Kirkwall City Pipe Band.  The venues were all extremely crowded, the weather was kind and so allowed folk to listen from outside if they wanted. The taster session in the Silo was very successful because it allowed a much larger audience.  The made it possible for a performance from some of the bairns in the Westray school and really exciting performance from two of Westray’s up and coming musicians: Ivy and Caleb McEwen.

The Saturday night concert and dance was incredibly successful and the Stronsay Band delivered a remarkable concert and ceilidh to follow.  The Stereo Lobsters are a popular act and concluded the evening on a real high. 

Sunday and the open air outside venue was challenging to set up, due to the limited number of volunteers being tired and stretched with competing commitments.  There were also real concerns about the weather.  However, it dried up and the food stalls which were provided by small businesses, and community groups was probably the most successful Sunday event in Connections’ history.  Most of the stalls sold out of their food, and feedback was all incredibly high.  Bad Apple came to perform having not played at the rest of the festival and this offered the day a unique and new feel, and also took the burden off the amazing performers who had brought so much to the previous two days.

The challenges to Connections will always be the constraints relating to spaces on the boat, accommodation for audience and guests, and the limited seats in the hall fo the ticketed events.  Whilst these present a struggle, the committee has developed a pretty good sense of how to work within them and the non-ticketed events ensure as many people as possible in Westray are able to benefit from this extraordinary event.

The Friday and Saturday night events were completely sold out, and the Sunday event was very well attended, even when the weather looked rough.

The long term benefits from Westray Connections, are first and foremost a sense of pride and accomplishment for such a small team of volunteers.  We are also networking with artists across Scotland, who are always so gracious and eager to get into the spirit of Westray Connections.

We have also really gelled as a committee, and the planning/organisation/delivery of the event ran as smoothly as it ever has.  As well as the committee of 7 individuals there is now a committed volunteer base who happily chip in during the set-up, and running of the festival. 

We are already turning our attention to 2025 and using the learning from previous years to shape the weekend and build on our successes.