HELENSBURGH’S Winter Festival is one of eight major events set to receive funding support from Argyll and Bute Council – even though the pandemic means there’s still significant doubt over whether most of the events will happen.

Proposals to award a total of more than £50,000 from the local authority’s strategic events and festivals fund to some of the area’s biggest annual events were agreed last Thursday.

Some of the events in question have already been cancelled due to the pandemic, but it is planned to stage scaled-down occasions in their place.

These include the Cowal Highland Gathering, whose original planned £30,000 award has been reduced to £10,000 under the new proposals.

A grant of £5,000 is recommended for the Winter Festival, whose organisers have yet to decide whether to press ahead in 2021 – though the decision to cancel last year’s event wasn’t made until August.

In a report, executive director Kirsty Flanagan said: “Whilst there is still uncertainty and unpredictability it is hoped that events will be able to go ahead at some point later in the year.

“It is therefore felt important to support our events industry as much as we can by awarding grants to those strategic events that hopefully still have a chance of going ahead – either because of their nature or the fact that they are due to be held later in the year.”

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