Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival

That the Parliament congratulates Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival on its programme launch for Scotland’s largest rural performing arts festival, which takes place from 22 to 31 May 2020; notes that the festival consists of 41 performances taking place across 29 venues across the length and breadth of Dumfries and Galloway; congratulates the community engagement team on bringing Vision Mechanic’s STORM, which is a 10-metre mythical goddess who tells the story of the oceans in crisis and who initiates a battle on the climate emergency, to a free public event in Dumfries; notes that the launch saw talented performances from Galloway Violin Studio, Liv McDougall and Craig Carruthers as well as poetry from Daniel Gillespie; acknowledges the high quality of performances brought to the region, including The National Theatre of Scotland’s sell-out show, The Cheviot, The Stag and The Black, Black Oil at Annan Academy; congratulates the team at DG Arts on positively engaging with local schools and acknowledges the significant contribution made by the region’s young people and the festival’s Young Promoters Group, who have all played a key role in delivering the fantastic series of events; acknowledges the economic contribution of Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival, which injects a £9 return on every £1 invested, and wishes all involved every success for 2020 and beyond.