About the Wild Goose Festival
Produced by The Stove Network and held in Dumfries and surrounding areas, Wild Goose Festival unites key partners from the region in an exploration of nature, creativity, and place. The festival is inspired by the migratory route of barnacle geese between Svalbard and the Solway estuary and focuses on our region’s connection to these fascinating birds and the incredible journey they make to reach us.
Every autumn Dumfries & Galloway welcomes tens of thousands of wild geese, including barnacle, greylag geese, brent geese and Greenland white-fronted geese, after their long migration, some travelling over 2,700km to reach us!
This yearly mass gathering makes our region one of the best places in the UK to see such a variety of geese.
The festival celebrates both the inspirational journey undertaken by the geese and our deep connection with the natural world. The family-friendly programme of events aims to engage our communities through creativity, education, and play, building meaningful relationships and encouraging people across generations to reconnect with the environment they live in.
2023’s programme offered a fun-filled series of inspiring and educational, family-friendly activities and events across Dumfries & Galloway.
The eleven-day festival ran from 19th – 29th October, weaving art, culture, and nature together through a series of activities from interactive storytelling, nature walks, conversations to performances and creative workshops for all ages.
The festival was produced by The Stove Network and formed part of the Scottish International Storytelling Festival 2023 and was supported by TRACS – Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland and Dumfries & Galloway Council.
2023’s festival included an immersive Wild Goose Festival Hub, hosted in the Loreburne Centre on the High Street of Dumfries. The interactive space offered a special youth engagement programme, supported by the Youth Arts Open Fund, a Creative Scotland fund administered by Youth Link Scotland and funded by the Scottish Government.