Wick's Northern Lights Festival has 'given us a renewed sense of pride'
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Lyth Arts Centre’s inaugural Northern Lights Festival has given Wick "a renewed sense of pride", according to the organisers of the nine-day programme.
They say they have been "completely blown away" by the response from the public.
The festival in October celebrated Wick harbour and the Caithness coastline with film screenings, exhibitions, performances and talks, all centred around a free series of outdoor projections.
Around 7000 people attended and there were thousands of online viewers.
Festival co-director Charlotte Mountford said: “The Lyth Arts Centre team have been completely blown away by the response to Northern Lights Festival. No matter what the October weather threw at us, people still showed up to support the events.
"I think it has given us a renewed sense of pride in the town and provided a much-needed community celebration. It was a real community effort and wouldn't have been possible without support from so many local groups, businesses and individuals.
"The festival was a few years in the making and was a fantastic opportunity for Caithness to be part of Scotland's Year of Coasts and Waters 2020/21. It will be a difficult week to top but we're now busy planning for the next 12 months with lots of local and national projects on the horizon.”
Highlights of the event included Vision Mechanics’ 10-metre-tall mythical goddess of the sea, Storm, whose procession through the town centre on a very wet Monday night attracted huge crowds as well as 16,000 online views, and a light and projection installation around the harbour which received "outstanding feedback" and many repeat visits.
There was also a Family Storytelling Dip and Storytelling and Starbathing with local storyteller and wild swimmer Alex Patience at which people took the plunge by moonlight.
The Wick RNLI crew supported the festival throughout, even using a searchlight to light up Storm as she walked around the harbour.
All the Northern Lights Festival volunteers chose to donate their £10 volunteer expenses payment to the Wick RNLI branch, raising £1500.
The Northern Lights Festival took place from October 8-16. For updates and information on next year’s festival, visit https://lytharts.org.uk/northern-lights-festival
