More than 30 community groups were represented at a collaborative meeting held at Castlehill Community Centre in November – looking to work together to plan celebrations in the town in 2023. The event was a face-to-face gathering of many who had taken part in “the Cupar & District Forum” (steered by Cupar Development Trust through 2021 and 2022) as well as new faces who came to the event … all with one aim in mind: to help showcase Cupar to its residents and visitors.

Those involved in delivering the events and activities over the 2022 Celebration Weekend met immediately after for a “wash up”, and agreed for any community group who wished to be involved in future events to be invited to the Castlehill meeting. Hosted by Raymond Young of Castle Community Association, the event ran in an ‘open space’ format … those attending joining themed tables to discuss and share ideas. At the end, ideas were presented by a representative from each table – and all present were asked to mark their preferences.

The focus was on a Celebration Weekend in 2023 (Friday 15th – Sunday 17th September) as some groups have already identified they will be delivering events and activities over that time, building on what has been delivered on the same weekend in 2021 and 2022. The weekend also coincides with the Fife farmers’ Market’s day in Cupar (Saturday 16th) as well as the final weekend of the Funfair.

However, other ideas were shared including the creation of a Civic Week to be staged in May or June of 2023; those who led on this told the meeting that they would involve all groups and that “willing helpers” are already in place. The upcoming Coronation of King Charles III was also discussed – with the corresponding bank holiday weekend in May. We look forward to hearing more and sharing an updates on these.

Another area discussed was to ensure all events and activities are made accessible to non-English speakers. We have not listed this as a separate ‘event’ as it should apply to all ideas being considered by the forum – and we look forward to that developing with the help of those who championed the cause on the day.

Below are the four themes that received the highest number of preferences – to be developed and delivered in 2023: in short, music, young people, local food and heritage.

Call to action!

The call now is for any individuals, community groups, companies or organisations who wish to help drive these forward to meet as soon as practicable in 2023 – and create their own plan to ensure the ambitions can be met.

Nothing is set in stone: these could be events or activities, large or small, live or online. The key thing is that they meet the criteria of the collaborative forum and exceed the expectations of those attending/experiencing them!

You can click on any of the images to email Raymond Young who will collate replies. The Forum will then issue an update in January and look at a follow-up meeting where all can present their ideas. When emailing, please ensure you provide:

• Your name
• Group/organisation
• Telephone
• Any other information that you think might be relevant/useful

 

Need more?

The Forum is an open group and any community associations, clubs, groups or societies are welcome to join. To date, the following have been involved in planning and delivering events and activities under their collaborative umbrella:

Bell Baxter High School  |  Castlehill Community Centre  |  Castlehill Primary School

Cupar Amateur Musical Society  |  Cupar & District Pipe Band  |  Cupar Arts  |  Cupar Camera Club

Cupar Community Council  |  Cupar in Bloom  |  Cupar Development Trust  |  Cupar Fair Trade

Cupar Justice & Peace Group  |  Cupar Library  |  Cupar Museum & Heritage Centre

Cupar Old Parish Church  |  Cupar Scouts Group  |  Cupar Twinning Association

Cupar Y  |  Cupar Youth Cafe  |  Cupar Youth Musical Theatre  |  Fife Farmers’ Market

Fife Sports & Leisure Trust  |  Fife Voluntary Action  |  Kate Kennedy Club  |  Kilmaron School

Lucky Ewe  |  Steve Penrice Archive  |  St John’s & Dairsie United Parish Church  |  Sustainable Cupar

The Lighthouse  |  The Rotary Club of Cupar  |  The Sunshine Kitchen  |  Three Estates Cupar

University of St Andrews Music Centre  |  Yvonne Gray Dance Studio

In addition, the Forum has had the help and support of the Bruce Charitable Trust, Fife Council and Police Scotland, as well as the Stirling’s Family Funfair.

 

Thanks for reading.