Wickerman Festival
The Wickerman Festival was an annual music festival held near Auchencairn in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Dubbed "Scotland's Alternative Music festival", its motto was "The Wickerman Festival – it's better than it needs to be!"
It began in 2001 when Sid Ambrose, later the festival's artistic director, hit upon the idea of a local counterculture-based, family-friendly event whilst working with the Stewartry Music Initiative. This was due in large part to the surrounding area featuring various locations used in the cult British horror film The [Wicker Man (1973 film)|The Wicker Man], starring Christopher Lee and Edward Woodward. Ambrose took the idea to local farmer Jamie Gilroy and they arranged for the festival to take place within a natural amphitheatre of of prime Galloway grazing land at East Kirkcarswell Farm, Dundrennan.
Musically and creatively, the festival was likened to a smaller version of Glastonbury, with a widely eclectic mix of music to suit everyone. It had several performance spaces including the Summerisle main stage, the Axis Sound System reggae sound system tent, the Acoustic Village, a stage for punk/ska/northern soul called the Scooter Tent, the Solus Tent for new Scottish bands and several dance tents. It additionally featured a children's area, workshops, a beer tent, craft spaces, a cinema and much more.
The festival would climax on the Saturday at midnight with the burning of a giant wicker man, built by local craftsmen Trevor Leat and Alex Rigg. The designs for these became ever more elaborate and inventive in successive years.
The 2015 festival, which had a capacity of 18,000, took place six months after the unexpected death of Jamie Gilroy, and his widow and daughter later announced it would take a hiatus for the following year. However, after failure to find a third-party promoter, in November 2016 they decided to end the festival altogether.
Awards
It was nominated for two festival awards:- Best Cult Following 2005
- Best Grassroots Festival 2006
Charities
The Wickerman Festival supported these charities:*
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Via Rerrick Events, the festival's charitable arm, it raised funds for the education of young Tanzanian orphan James Okeyo through activities in the children’s area.