THE Big Burns Supper Festival has been postponed until January 2025 due to funding challenges.

Organisers have said the 'difficult' decision to cancel the 2024 event is primarily due to the discontinuation of the Winter Festivals Fund by the Scottish Government in October 2022.

In a statement posted on social media, organisers said: "We tried to manage without this funding in our budget last year, but it proved to be very challenging because of rises in event costs and the continued cost of living crisis which is affecting how much money people have for events.

"We have written to the Scottish Government to secure alternative funding, and this has been unsuccessful, so we are doing the right thing by waiting until we have enough resources to make the event happen.

"We do not want to compromise the artistic integrity or the safety of our event.

"Funders have said we may be able to roll our 2024 funding on to 2025, so this gives us a lot of time to match this funding.

"We have a vision for Burns Night which we think the Scottish Government may have lost sight of, and we will do everything we can to remind them of what an important celebration Burns Night is.

"We believed it needed to feel more inclusive, and we stand by our manifesto about the potential Burns Night has.

"We know you will be disappointed by this news," they said. 

In light of this, the organisation has asked for public support.

They are urging locals and festival attendees to write to the Minister of Culture Christina McKelvie to stress the significance of cultural funding in Dumfries & Galloway.

Last year, the event brought with it huge crowds as well as musical acts to Dumfries’ Loreburn Hall such as funk and soul maestro, Craig Charles, Skerryvore, Colonel Mustard & the Djion 5 and The Bootleg Beatles.