The Scottish Traditional Boat Festival has been crowned winner of the Best Cultural Event / Festival category at the Aberdeen City & Shire Tourism Awards (ACSTA).

The accolade was presented to Festival Co-Chairs Vivien Rae and Myles Murray at the awards evening in Aberdeen on Friday 22 November by BBC presenter Judith Ralston, and Claire Bruce, Chair of Visit Aberdeenshire, company sponsor of the award category.

Festival Co-Chair, Vivien Rae said, “We’re absolutely delighted to be taking this award back to Portsoy. It’s a great achievement for the Festival to be recognised as the best in the region and a firm acknowledgement of the dedication and hard work of the volunteers who make it happen each year. It’s also in recognition of our many sponsors, supporters and funders for their continuous support and investment, which we are very grateful for.”

Myles Murray, Co-Chair, added “The Boat Festival is a major event in the North East of Scotland and it’s great that all the hard work by the volunteer team has been recognised with the presentation of this prestigious award. The Festival attracts visitors from near and far, and as a team we will continue to develop the event for the enjoyment of those visiting Portsoy.”

As regional winners, the Boat Festival has earned its place at the prestigious National Final in March, where it will join the country’s tourism elite to be honoured with the highest accolade in the Scottish hospitality and tourism sector.

The award comes a week after it was announced that the Festival has been selected as one of the organisations to be supported by the Year of Coasts and Waters 2020 events fund, managed by EventScotland. The additional funding will support an enhanced programme of marine and coastal activities to be added to next year’s event on 20 & 21 June 2020.

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One of the most popular events in Scotland’s tourism calendar, the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival attracts up to 16,000 people to the town of Portsoy every year.

The next Boat Festival takes place on 20 & 21 June 2020 in Portsoy, Aberdeenshire, when it will showcase the best in Scotland’s maritime, crafts, food, drink, music and dance.

In 2020, Scotland celebrates its coasts and waters with a year long programme of events and activities which will shine a spotlight on these vital elements of our landscape. From our beautiful natural features including coasts, lochs and rivers to our industrial heritage such as our canals, mills, and the creation of our national drink – whisky, Scotland’s coasts and waters have shaped our culture, our stories and our way of life. The Scottish Traditional Boat Festival has been selected as one of the organisations to be supported by the Year of Coasts and Waters 2020 events fund, managed by EventScotland.

More information and tickets for the 2020 event can be found at: www.stbfportsoy.org