Frontline Festival Scotland gets backing from new Campaign Ambassadors

Even with the covid-19 pandemic completely writing off any potential income this year for Ceangail CIC, a project management company based in Stirling, the social enterprise pivoted its focus in July towards delivering a new virtual gig called The Frontline Festival Scotland.

One of the projects new Ambassadors that is getting behind their fundraising campaign is Stirling born Scottish Actress Simone Lahbib.

“When I heard about the next project Ceangail was working on, I knew I needed to be part of it. All our frontline workers really are the true heroes during this pandemic, so I am passionate about lending my support to this fundraiser. This inspirational virtual event brings together a fantastic line up of artists who will be entertaining viewers throughout St Andrews Day this year and I hope that wherever you will be watching it you’ll thoroughly enjoy yourself and will be able to donate something to this great cause.“

With Ceangail securing a grant from Scottish Enterprises Pivotal Enterprise Fund, it allowed the social enterprise to move its event online with its purpose of not only raising funds for several frontline charities but also to inject some life back into the creative industry by supporting Scottish artists.

Organisers of the event were aiming to attract up to 30 Scottish artists to play at the St Andrews Day gig but decided it was best to pre-record as much of the event as possible so as to alleviate any chance of cancellation due to covid-19. The virtual gig however still aims to have 2 live presenters at a small venue on the day who will introduce the artists but won’t have any audience members present.

“It’s something we thought about for a few weeks,” explains Matt McGrandles, Director of Ceangail CIC. “I explored several outdoor venue options across central Scotland but it became clear we would be taking too much of a chance if the pandemic extended into the winter months so we decided that for the safety of everyone involved it would best to limit interactions of event crew, artists and fans. I think we have been proven right with that decision.”

Although the gig will be free to view it’s not just the organisers that are asking fans to consider making a donation at some point to the Frontline Festival Scotland, it will also be the artists and bands asking you to click the button on the Just Giving page.

“Both events and artist bookings have been hit really hard this year because of covid-19, so with many other music events being cancelled or postponed, the Frontline Festival Scotland virtual gig has been massively welcomed by all the artists involved. We have a great line up and we’re looking forward to making that announcement shortly.” Matt goes on, “It’s also a great boost for us when you have the likes of Simone on board as one of our campaign Ambassadors. If we can all pull together then this event will offer so much to so many.”

With less than 10 weeks until the main event, the organisers are also appealing for more businesses to stand with them by becoming a sponsor or supporter of the event. They can also make a donation directly to the campaign via the Just Giving platform and further details about the festival can be requested by emailing office@ceangail.org