The Wild Goose Festival is a pilot for a new multi-media festival in Dumfries that uses the migratory route of the Barnacle Geese between Svalbard and the Solway Estuary to join people, nature and ideas across Scotland and the Arctic. The Wild Goose Festival is an innovative way of connecting literary tourism with the established nature and environment tourism offer in Dumfries and Galloway.
In 2020 the festival is themed around Placemaking – using three different lenses to examine this topic and its connections across the North:
- The Arts and Creativity
- The Natural World
- Academia and Knowledge
The Wild Goose Festival will include ‘Riverrun’; a weekend festival of nature writing for all ages. It will include events specifically for children called ‘Mother Goose’ which will engage with authors writing for young people, as well as seeking out topical and relevant programming that connects to the geese and exploration themes. The festival also aims to showcase local authors writing for children in Scots language.