The Annual Cupar & District Lecture has proved to be very popular, and with the addition of Zoom, has attracted people from some far flung places. This year’s lecture – hosted by Cupar Development Trust – promises to build on a series of talks and lectures held over the last two years.

Bill Pagan, Chair of CDT, explains: “We are delighted to welcome a nationally respected speaker – Professor Murray Pittock.  The Annual Lecture is designed to set the scene globally and nationally, before addressing the challenges and opportunities in local communities.  Professor Pittock is an expert in both the human and economic contributions which can be achieved through local culture and heritage.”

The Lecture will be online on Thursday 15th December (from 1845) and is titled ‘Culture, Tourism & The Economy’. CDT has played a significant role in all three areas for the town and its district over the last 12 months.

Bill Pagan explains: “Working with partners and stakeholders, we have helped to sponsor a series of online food & drink trails promoting close to 300 businesses in the sector across the town’s wider catchment, mirroring Cupar’s ancient medieval ‘liberty’. The seven trails all start and end in Cupar and help to support some 40 food & drink businesses in the town.”

In addition, CDT worked closely with CuparNow to trigger matched funding from STV that helped to fund and run a TV campaign this summer. Seen by over 330,000 people across three months, the 30-second TV commercial invited people to ‘Spend a day in Cupar & Country’ – to discover the town’s heritage, more than 400 businesses and also highlighted the area’s provenance and attractions.

Bill adds: “Since the end of 2020, we have helped steer a collaborative forum of more than 30 community groups to focus on the town’s exit from lockdowns. That saw many working together to deliver a Celebration & Commemoration Weekend in September, including a celebration of Cupar’s medieval past as well as a civic commemoration to the late Queen … activities involving school children to showcase the town to residents and visitors.” The main events of the weekend coincided with BBC Scotland being in town, filming an upcoming episode in their series, My Kind of Town … one of the reasons they chose Cupar being CuparNow, Scotland’s only Digital Improvement District.

The same collaborative forum – now approaching 40 – met face to face in November to start making plans for 2023 and we will share more on this Blog once the next steps are known. Bill concludes: “The local area is rich in heritage, which contributes to all of the local economy, community involvement, and – most important at the present time – well-being for all ages.”

 

Please register …

All are asked to register for the lecture via Eventbrite so the organisers can track attendees and follow up accordingly. You can register by clicking on the block below …

Thanks for reading!