View source for Wickerman Festival

{{Short description|Former annual music festival in Scotland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=May 2012}}
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Hands.JPG|thumb|500px|left|Wickerman Festival 2007 goer]] -->

{{infobox music festival |
  | music_festival_name = The Wickerman Festival
  | image = [[Image:WickermanLogo.jpg|240px]]
  | location = Dundrennan, [[Scotland]]
  | years_active= 2001–2015
  | capacity = 18,000
  | dates = Third weekend of July
  | genre = [[Rock music|Rock]], [[Ska]], [[Alternative rock]], [[Northern Soul]], [[Dance music#Nightclubs and raves|Dance]], [[Indie (music)|Indie]], [[World music]], [[Punk rock|Punk]], [[Reggae]], [[Folk music]].
}}
[[Image:Wickermanlarge.jpg|thumb|200px|The Wickerman from the 2006 festival]]
The '''Wickerman Festival''' was an annual [[music festival]] held near [[Dundrennan|Auchencairn]] in [[Dumfries and Galloway]], [[Scotland]]. Dubbed "Scotland's Alternative Music festival", its motto was "The Wickerman Festival – it's better than it needs to be!"

It began in 2001 when Sid Ambrose, later the festival's artistic director, hit upon the idea of a local counterculture-based, family-friendly event whilst working with the Stewartry Music Initiative. This was due in large part to the surrounding area featuring various locations used in the cult British horror film ''[[The Wicker Man (1973 film)|The Wicker Man]]'' (1973), starring [[Christopher Lee]] and [[Edward Woodward]]. Ambrose took the idea to local farmer Jamie Gilroy and they arranged for the festival to take place within a natural amphitheatre of {{convert|120|acre|km2}} of prime Galloway grazing land at East Kirkcarswell Farm, [[Dundrennan]].

Musically and creatively, the festival was likened to a smaller version of [[Glastonbury Festival|Glastonbury]], with a widely eclectic mix of music to suit everyone. It had several performance spaces including the Summerisle main stage, the Axis Sound System reggae sound system tent, the Acoustic Village, a stage for punk/ska/northern soul called the Scooter Tent, the Solus Tent for new Scottish bands and several dance tents. It additionally featured a children's area, workshops, a beer tent, craft spaces, a cinema and much more.

The festival  would climax on the  Saturday at midnight with the burning of a giant {{convert|30|ft|m|abbr=on}} [[wicker man]], built by local craftsmen Trevor Leat and Alex Rigg. The designs for these became ever more elaborate and inventive in successive years.

The 2015 festival, which had a capacity of 18,000,<ref>{{cite web |title=The Wickerman Festival 2015 |url=https://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/wickerman/2015 |website=[[eFestivals]] |access-date=18 December 2020}}</ref> took place six months after the unexpected death of Jamie Gilroy, and his widow and daughter later announced it would take a hiatus for the following year. However, after failure to find a third-party promoter, in November 2016 they decided to end the festival altogether.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gallowaygazette.co.uk/lifestyle/obituary-jamie-gilroy-written-by-chloe-adams-1-3669216
|title=Jamie Gilroy obituary|publisher=Galloway Gazette}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-38051733|title=Waving a fond farewell to the Wickerman Festival|date=21 November 2016 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref>

==Awards==
It was nominated for two festival awards:
* Best Cult Following 2005
* Best Grassroots Festival 2006

[[Image:Wickermanfestivalgoers.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Wickerman 2006 goers]]

==Charities==
The Wickerman Festival supported these charities:
*[[Tusk Trust]]
*[https://www.firstbasedumfries.co.uk/ The First Base Agency]
*[https://www.crew.scot/ Crew 2000]
Via Rerrick Events, the festival's charitable arm, it raised funds for the education of young Tanzanian orphan James Okeyo through activities in the children’s area.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gallowaygazette.co.uk/news/wickerman-charity-helps-educate-tanzanian-oprhan-1-3709871|title=Wickerman charity helps educate Tanzanian oprhan|publisher=Galloway Gazette}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Wickerman Festival}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20150816003227/http://www.thewickermanfestival.co.uk/ The Wickerman Festival Official Site] at the [[Wayback Machine]]
*[https://www.facebook.com/wickermanfestival/ Official Facebook page]
*[https://twitter.com/WickermanFest Official Twitter account]
*[https://vimeo.com/rowanmorrison Official Vimeo channel]
*[https://www.skiddle.com/groups/wickerman/news-0.html The Wickerman Festival news and reviews] at [[Skiddle]]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfiKnk295-o The Wickerman Festival 2015 Official Film]

{{Scottishfestivals}}
{{The Wicker Man}}

{{coord|54.819|-3.925|type:event_region:GB|display=title}}
[[Category:Wicker man]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Dumfries and Galloway]]
[[Category:Music festivals in Scotland]]
[[Category:Music festivals established in 2002]]
[[Category:2002 establishments in Scotland]]
[[Category:Electronic music festivals in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Music festivals disestablished in 2016]]
[[Category:2016 disestablishments in Scotland]]