A Texan who launched a festival dedicated to Robert Burns says she is “baffled” by the lack of appreciation for his home town.
After twelve years living in Ayr, Meredith McCrindle said she is still revelling in “living like a tourist" and was surprised that others didn’t always share her enthusiasm.
The harpist and clarsach player was introduced to Scotland's national bard through playing his music and says she became a "die-hard fan".
His melodies and lyrics resonated with her so strongly, that after taking a post-graduate course in management of the creative industries at St Andrews University, she decided to make Ayr her home.
The 35-year-old, who has seven-year-old twin boys, acknowledges that the town’s glory days as a significant shopping and tourist destination had largely lost their shine.
She immersed herself in the local community, taking an active part in the Ayr Town Centre Steering Group and started researching the concept of contemporary consumers, “who want experiences, not just shopping”.
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She hit on the idea of creating an immersive festival for all ages, not just the traditional, older Burns Supper set.
It is themed around Halloween, a date that is very near as popular as Christmas to Americans and affords plenty of opportunities to showcase Burns' poetry - in particular one of his most famous, Tam O'Shanter, which recounts the supernatural encounter of a tipsy farmer.
"I feel that many Ayrshire folk still don’t realise just how wonderful this county is," she said.
"Every step you take, you are surrounded by history in spades. From forgotten architectural gems to historical and geographical links with Robert Burns.
"I believe Burns could very much be on the same level as Mozart (is for Austria) in tourism terms.
"We have a great asset. Alloway is where he was born, Ayrshire is where he lived most of his life and there is so much potential to do more with it."
She has welcomed a major plan to invest i£150million in Ayr, which was established as a Royal Burgh in 1205, making it one of Scotland's oldest towns.
"I think it's on the up and up and I've always been conscious we have ups and downs in our history. If you want something to change you have to roll up your sleeves and be part of it.
"Some understandably bemoan the loss of 20th century icons such as Hourston’s department store on Ayr High Street but we mustn’t forget that life doesn’t stand still."
On the idea for Tamfest she says she "never wanted to recreate an olde worlde Bachelor’s Club event" but rather something that could help grow his audience and boost high street footfall.
She says South Ayrshire Council were fully supportive of her vision, as was Jeremy Wyatt, CEO of the much-loved Gaeity Theatre.
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"Being American, Halloween is done to a big degree and I just thought, why haven't we celebrated the Tam O'Shanter story at this time in Ayr?
"Burns was fascinated by folklore and that side of Scottish culture and he grew up with it.
"After my boys were born, I just thought I want them to have those wonderful celebrations and Robert Burns wrote multiple poems about Halloween."
Tamfest has been running for seven years now and its creator says going online during the pandemic improved the international reach of the festival, something she hopes will eventually translate into tourism as Covid restrictions continue to ease.
The most recent in-person Tamfest parade increased footfall to Ayr town centre by over 90% (compared with a “normal” day’s trading) with more than 8000 people attending.
Although most of this year's festival will remain online, there will be a couple of live events including a family-friendly Trail of Terror walk, going from the Tam O'Shanter Inn on Ayr High Street -which Burns is said to have frequented - to the Auld Kirk and across the Brig O Doon.
Singer Eddie Reader has also recorded an exclusive set for the festival.
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"The first year of Tamfest, I was the crazy American with an idea. As more and more people came on board however, enthusiasm grew and the first time we were able to organise a procession and street performances in Ayr town centre in 2015, I literally wept with joy."
A report led by renowned Scottish historian Professor Murray Pittock, for the University of Glasgow, found Scotland’s national bard is worth just over £200 million a year to the Scottish economy
While the poet is only worth 5% of the income generated by Mozart in his home country, he says "that gap could close".
“We must always remember to breathe new life into the wealth of history we enjoy here," said Ms McCrindle. "Tamfest is very much a 21stC way to honour our 18th C ploughman poet and to bring that joy to entirely new generations of visitors.”
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