Your guide to stories, news and business opportunities in the Highlands and Islands throughout 2014

GET INTO 2014 - NEWSLETTEROctober 2014 Issue 7

Highland Homecoming, a two month celebration of the region’s art, literature, sport and music takes place throughout September and October, featuring an extensive and varied programme of events for locals and visitors. Some great events are taking place across the region including The Royal National Mòd which returns to Inverness for the first time since 1997, WEMBO World Solo 24hr Mountain Biking Championships in Fort William’s Nevis Range, Inverness Street Festival, the week-long music event Blazin’ in Beauly, Caithness

“Vetrablot” harvest festival, Dark Skye Star Party and many more. Mike Cantlay, Chairman of VisitScotland said: “The line-up for Highland Homecoming is nothing short of spectacular. From ancestry to astronomy, mountain biking to marathons, ceilidhs to cabers, the Highlands will light up with the outstanding sights and sounds of Scotland during September and October.”

To find out more about Highland Homecoming CLICK HERE.

HIGHLAND HOMECOMING IN FULL SWING

YOUR 2014 BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

• Check out the VisitScotland website by clicking here – there is a host of information and a useful Homecoming toolkit to help your business make the most of 2014.

2014 EVENTS

Jan - Dec The Year of Homecoming 23 - 28 Sept Ryder Cup

OCTOBER EVENTS

1 - 2 Preparing to Export Workshop 4 – 12 Shetland Wool Week 6 – 11 Trade Mission to India 10 – 12 Tunnock’s Mull Rally 10 – 18 Mod Naiseanta Rioghail - The Royal National Mod 11 - 12 World Solo 24 Hours MTB Championships 11 – 18 Blazin’ in Beauly 16 – 18 Inverness Street Festival 17 – 19 Beer ‘N Folk 18 – 31 Textile Art

For further details on all of the above events please visit www.hie.co.uk/2014 Photo: Event Scotland

There’s something for everyone to enjoy at Findhorn Bay Arts Festival which takes place from 14th to 28th September in and around Forres and Findhorn Bay. The Year of Homecoming Scotland 2014 event which is part-funded by HIE, will host five days of art and cultural events throughout Moray. The programme

of events include buskers, walk about performers, Scottish country dancers, story tellers, a pipe band, live music and alternative theatre including the premiere of “Macbeth the Remix” at Brodie Castle.

For more information CLICK HERE.

MORAY HOME TO SCOTLAND’S NEWEST ARTS FESITVAL

Photo: Sean Purser

October 2014 Page 02Get into 2014 - Newsletter

Scotland Welcomes the World 2014 www.hie.co.uk

For this first time since 1973, and for only the second in the history of The Ryder Cup, Scotland will welcome the world as it hosts the greatest tournament in golf at the Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire from 23rd to 28th September.

Food businesses from all over the Highlands and Islands, including Stornoway Black Pudding, delicious seafood such as mussels from the Isle of Lewis, scallops from Ullapool and crab meat from Shetland, and many more are set to reach a global audience in Perthshire. The “Land

of Food and Drink Showcase” in the “Scotland Welcomes the World” Pavilion at the event will also feature companies account-managed by HIE, including Argos Bakery, Stag Bakeries, Connage Highland Dairy, and Loch Fyne Oysters.

Great Glen Charcuterie, based in Roy Bridge and owned by Anja Baak and her husband Jan Jacob, specialises in charcuterie products such as venison salami and chorizo. With more than 15 gold stars from the Great Taste Awards in the last five years and a listing in the Top

50 Foods in the UK it’s no surprise that Great Glen’s fine Scottish charcuterie features on the Ryder Cup menu. Event caterer Compass will be using Great Glen’s smoked wild venison at the event whilst Mecco caterers will be offering their wild venison salami and venison chorizo to visitors.

Anja Baak from Great Glen Charcuterie said: “We are delighted to be supplying our Wild Scottish Venison Charcuterie to such a prestigious event in Scotland.”

HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS FOOD TO FEATURE AT THE RYDER CUP

Rona MacDonald and Ria MacDonald, Directors of Charles Macleod Ltd, send off a delivery of Stornoway Black Puddings to the 2014 Ryder Cup

Shetland Wool Week, a Homecoming event, takes place on the island during 4th – 12th October. The week celebrates the world-class natural fibre through a programme of exhibitions, classes and events covering different

subjects including weaving, spinning, dyeing, and Fair Isle and lace knitting.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE.

SHETLAND WOOL WEEK

Photo: Promote Shetland

Join us on the 29th October 2014, from 10am-3.30pm, at Strathpeffer Pavilion for the Interface Free From Foods Event! The Free From Foods market is growing at home and abroad. Do you want to get involved but don’t know where to start or simply want to find out more information?

There are significant opportunities which you could capitalise on to diversify and grow your business by developing a new product or service or by improving existing ones.

This free event from Interface, in conjunction with Scottish Development International, Food and Health Innovation Service, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and Highland Opportunity will show you the opportunities available, give you market information and then highlight the help that is available to you through the experts in Scotland’s academia and the services that you can tap into.

Whether you are a small producer looking to increase your range and reach or a larger company looking to enter a new market, this event will help you innovate and explore. Come along and see what you can do.

For more information on this essential food and drink event CLICK HERE.

FREE FROM FOODS: DEVELOPMENT, EXPORT AND INNOVATION

October 2014 Page 03Get into 2014 - Newsletter

Scotland Welcomes the World 2014 www.hie.co.uk

Canadian student Wade Cormack, whose ancestors came from Wick and Tiree, has recently completed the first year of a three year academic study into sport and culture around the Moray Firth.

The University of the Highlands and Islands set up the PhD studentship which is being part-funded by The Royal Dornoch Golf Club in the lead up to the town’s 400 Years of Golf in Dornoch celebrations.

Wade’s research documents the history of golf in the Moray Firth

region between the 17th and 19th centuries and reveals the links between golf and education. He gave an update of his research in a talk to members of the golf club on Tuesday 26th August.

Wade, who completed a MA in Scottish history at the University of Guelph in Ontario said: “This studentship excites me because I will be going further back in Scottish history, another two full centuries, to examine the foundation of golf, and sports in general, in the Moray Firth region.”

CANADIAN STUDENT DOCUMENTS 400 YEARS OF GOLF AROUND THE MORAY FIRTH

Photo: The Royal Dornoch Golf Club

The prestigious Highlands and Islands Food & Drink Awards which is supported by Highlands and Islands Enterprise and celebrates excellence and achievement in the industry takes place in Inverness next month.

Crystal Mackay, HIE’s Development Manager for Food & Drink said: “HIE is extremely pleased to see such a high level and quality of entries received from across the region for the Highlands and Islands Food and Drink Awards.

Our fantastic natural larder is a key strength for the region and growing the food and drink sector is a priority for HIE. We welcome and thank all the dedicated companies across the Highlands and Islands and Cairngorms National Park area who entered and we wish all the shortlisted companies the best of luck in the forthcoming awards.”

The event, which is in its tenth year, attracts around 300 representatives from the region’s top food and drink businesses who gather annually

to celebrate all that is best in the industry in the Highlands and Islands and Cairngorms National Park area.

The winners will be revealed at the awards dinner and ceremony on Friday 24th October which is being hosted by presenter and comedian Fred MacAulay.

TICKETS CAN BE PURCHASED ONLINE ATwww.hifoodanddrinkawards.com

A DECADE OF CELEBRATING FINE FOOD AND DRINK

The Events 2014 team at HIE supported many client companies across the region last year, through the Geared for Gold programme of events, to promote the business opportunities arising from the Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup.

A total of 310 Highlands and Islands companies registered on the Glasgow Business portal. Examples of contracts secured by companies from the Highlands and Islands for the Commonwealth Games, include: Keith-based McNaughton Holdings which wove the official Team Scotland tartan; Foods from Argyll, a social enterprise, which successfully bid for a contract to cater for BBC at the Quay during the Games period and Tain-based

Metalwork UK which was involved in construction of the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.

Gary Ross, Director at Metalkwork UK said: “Metalwork UK were delighted to be awarded the high level secondary steelwork on such a prestigious contract as the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, giving us the opportunity to continue supplying and installing steelwork from our Highlands fabrication base, to throughout the United Kingdom.”

Another successful contractor for both the Games and the Ryder Cup is Harris Tweed Hebrides which provided tweed for Glasgow 2014 merchandise and will be providing the official Ryder Cup tweed clothing range.

MAJOR SUCCESS FOR LOCAL COMPANIES

Photo: Commonwealth Games Scotland Ltd.

October 2014 Page 04Get into 2014 - Newsletter

Scotland Welcomes the World 2014 www.hie.co.uk

HIE have been tweeting images of the many great golf courses throughout the Highlands and Islands and asking followers to ‘Guess the Golf Course’. Follow us @HIEScotland for daily updates during the Ryder Cup and tweet us using #HIE2014Events.

GUESS THE GOLF COURSE

Photo: Traigh Golf Course, near Arisaig in the West Highlands

Scottish golf tourism will enjoy a significantly enhanced global profile between 2014 and 2020 as a result of hosting major events such as the Ryder Cup, the Open Championship, the Scottish Open and the Ricoh Women’s British Open.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise recognises that golf tourism plays a vital role in supporting and growing the economy of the region. HIE works with businesses within the golf tourism sector that are ambitious, and can demonstrate a desire to grow and contribute to the long term success of this important

sector. By joining forces, HIE and its clients can plan for growth, either by expanding their markets or by developing new products or services.

HIE are working to connect potential future developments with inward investors at the Ryder Cup, highlighting some of the region’s most successful and innovative businesses and business people.

HIE is committed to working with these businesses, making connections with potential funders and increasing the number of people who choose to live, work,

study and invest in the Highlands and Islands.

Anna Allan, Head of Events 2014 at HIE said: “Scotland is one of the world’s premier golf destinations and the Highlands has an amazing product to offer. The unique nature and challenge of playing courses set in the most spectacular landscapes are major factors in attracting so many visitors to the region. The businesses attending with HIE have a fantastic opportunity to make new connections, build networks and encourage future growth and development of the highland golf market”.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE HOME OF GOLF

The famous Ryder Cup trophy travelled to Argyll, Shetland, and the Outer Hebrides in early September, arriving by helicopter to Machrihanish Dunes, Whalsay Golf Club and the Isle of Harris Golf Club.

Members of the public were given the opportunity to have their picture taken next to the Ryder Cup Trophy before it made its way back to Gleneagles on Wednesday 10th September.

Did you get your picture taken with the trophy? Tweet us your picture @HIEScotland.

RYDER CUP TROPHY TOURS THE HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS IN STYLE

The Ryder Cup trophy at Whalsay Golf Club in Shetland, Photo: VisitScotland

Moray-based business, The Living Golf Experience, offer tailor-made programmes for groups of all ages, talents and experience to enjoy a day of team-building, collaboration, and relaxation through golf.

The business has introduced The Living Golf Experience to the South African, German and Scottish markets and is available in the Highlands at Nairn Golf Club, Castle Stuart Golf Links and Royal Dornoch Golf Club.

To find out more about how HIE can help your business to export to key markets CLICK HERE.

LIVING GOLF EXPERIENCE