Summer in North East Fife

It has been a lovely summer here in North East Fife – even if the weather hasn’t always felt particularly summery! Its been fantastic to get out and about to explore some of our incredible local talent, with an array of exhibitions, festivals and events.

In June we had the East Neuk Festival which included the East Neuk Open Studios. Not only was it wonderful to see all the local talent, from painters to sculptors to photographers, but what a wonderful way for creatives to share their work with the community. I dropped in to see exhibitors across Crail and Kingsbarns and watching their processes was truly fascinating.

The end of June also saw the St Andrews Harbour Festival which had lots of lovely stalls and was a great chance to see some traditional dancing. It was good to see the St Andrews Men’s Shed thriving there: a great initiative to help men with their mental health.

The same weekend, we saw the vibrant Newport Festival which had great music, wonderful food and lots of interesting stalls. I managed to get a t-shirt from the History Group Exhibition which I was delighted with!

My last stop in June was the Ceres Highland Games which I went to with Willie Rennie MSP and Cllr Margaret Kennedy. The games had a huge variety of events and it was very impressive to see the historic games taking place today.

In July, there was even more incredible art. The Largo Arts Festival was full of warm hospitality and wonderful art showcasing the beauty of North East Fife. I also caught the Largo Bay Art Society’s exhibition which again displayed how talented our community is!

Later in July was the St Monans’ Sea Queen Parade. The procession was spectacular and all the events were lots of fun. I even tried my luck at ‘Beat the Goalie’ with the St Monans Swallows! There was no shortage of artistic talent either, with lovely handmade jewellery for sale.

At the end of July was the Falkland Festival where I supported Willie doing the hill race – I was quite pleased to cheer from the side-lines for this one! While he ran, I got to speak to lots of people at various stalls, including the Royal British Legion Scottish Riders who let me try out one of their bikes.

As we welcome in August, the Pittenweem Arts Festival is up and running which has an impressive collection of work across Pittenweem. If you haven’t been along yet I really recommend it.

I would also like to congratulate the RNLI in Anstruther on getting their new boat earlier this year and for looking out for the community’s safety so meticulously. This is especially important at this time of year, when we can make the most of our beautiful coastline.

Exam results at the beginning of August mark the ending of the summer season. Congratulations to everyone who did their Nationals, Highers and Advanced Highers and are now looking to their future. But before that, we still have a little bit more summer to go and many more incredible events coming up – I hope to meet some of you there.

I would like to extend my thanks to everyone involved in organising the events and to everyone who took part. Events like this are so important for bringing the community together and are such a wonderful way to meet and chat with each other.