Launch event marks countdown to new Nairn food and drink festival
The countdown to a Nairn’s newest festival has been marked with a launch event.
Taste of Nairn will take place in the coastal town from April 12-14 and will feature more than 15 individual events involving more than 40 businesses.
The event has been organised by Nairn Business Improvement District (BID) with support from local marketing firm Claire Doughty Publicity.
The three-day celebration includes a comedy night, fashion show, numerous restaurants putting on special events and offers such as gin and jazz, a mini music festival and wine flights and light bites.
A number of shops are offering discounts over the weekend and community groups have got involved including Green Hive who will host a Picnic in the Park at the town’s Viewfield.
The Saturday will see a huge artisan market being hosted in the Nairn Community and Arts Centre featuring more than 15 stalls, three food and drink related demonstrations and it is also home to the World Tattie Scone Contest for 2019.
Michael Boylan, chairman of Nairn BID, said: “I’m delighted that Nairn will have its first food and drink festival in 2019 and thoroughly believe this is just the starting place for making Nairn an even more popular destination to visit, stay, live and work.
"The main aim for the first year has always been about showing what can be done with some resource alongside working collaboratively with local business and partner organisations, it is about residents and visitors alike coming out in Nairn and seeing what it has to offer.
"It’s also about showing local businesses and groups what opportunities are available to us all if we work together to bring ideas to life. There are lots of fantastic events on over the weekend and I’m looking forward to enjoying them.”
At the launch event, guests were served tattie scone canapes made by Oakwood Cookery School who will run the World Tattie Scone Contest.
The contest was a feature for six years at Piping At Forres.
Stewart Nicol, chief Executive of Inverness Chamber of Commerce, said: “Nairn has such unique opportunities and with Taste of Nairn it is definitely onto something. It is a town which is light years ahead in what it has to offer and has a lot of raw material to work with.
“What is important is that you use whatever you can to get people into this fantastic town and with collaboration great things can be achieved.”
