Our aim was to create an attractive festive lights display for Forres town centre to be enjoyed by all during the Christmas 2017 period.  We are grateful to the Berry Burn Community Fund for helping with the costs of installation and maintenance.

                             

The grant from the Berry Burn Fund met the significant cost of hiring the Town Hall as our practice venue for 3 years. Without this financial support, the band may well have imploded and certainly the hugely successful Moray Youth Pipes and Drums Tuition Scheme would never have been conceived. The award allowed us to drive forward the tuition Scheme, develop the main band and to set up a Youth Band in a venue well suited for the purpose. It was beyond the fund raising capacity of the band to generate the Town Hall hire fees and we are all of us deeply indebted to Berry Burn for their support.

   

 

Forres has by a public vote the most beautiful High Street in Scotland, and unquestionably St. Laurence Church is the most beautiful building on it. Comparable buildings of this significance have purchasable guides which record both what is on view and the history of how it came to be there. Thanks to the encouragement of the Berry Burn Community Fund, this is now in place for St.Laurence.

Varis Circus Clan is a community Circus, fire and performing group open to all in our area. We have open practice sessions every Monday night from 6pm at Edinkillie hall as well as occasional training weekends in specific skills.

With our funding we have purchased fantastic new equipment and professional training and we are now developing acts to perform at culture day festival and Belladrum festival. We are open to all ages and skill levels. We have our newly trained stilt troupe of all ages and have some quality new equipment to practice with to ensure there is something for everyone and that any shows we perform will be unique.

  

KCCKC is a well established after school, breakfast and holiday club who provide childcare for all children in the Kinloss and Forres area. Our rented MOD facility was no longer suitable for us so we decided to renovate an unoccupied local authority domestic property to a fully accessible to all commercial premises. With support from BBCF, other agencies, our staff, committee and the local community we are delighted to have completed this project and now have a fantastic fully accessible home from home for the children in our care.

Alves Hall completed a major refurbishment of their premises in January 2018, including a new kitchen and meeting room, upgrading of toilets and improved storage facilities. The building, a former Territorial Army building, was taken over by the community 30 years ago and has hosted local user groups for over 40 years. The hall is now a more attractive venue for current and new users- with improved cooking facilities for users, and an attractive meeting space for meetings or small gatherings. There is improved disabled access at the back door; complementing earlier work providing a ramp at the front door.

     

This was a great experience for all involved and proved to be very successful. This was always intended to be an educational trip and was our first venture abroad as a Club. All who participated on the trip learned a lot about Germany and our twin town and we are grateful to all who helped us, especially the contribution from Berry Burn Community Fund which was invaluable.

Photograph of the winner of the best Diary of the trip Finlay Wallace receiving his prize from Club President, Graeme Ferguson.

The Dava Way Association and their volunteers are now in a far better position by being better equipped to maintain the path and keep it open and safe for walkers and cyclists.

The Colours of Cluny event has given a lot of pleasure to local people and a real boost to our local businesses at a quiet time of year. Without the initial funding from Berry Burn, our first funder, we would quite simply not have got this off the ground. We are extremely grateful for the support we received in both years which has made a real difference to the local community in 2016 and 2017.

     

 

Knockando Woolmill sits in the Spey Valley on the same site it has occupied for over 230 years. The Mill is small and relies on two modern looms to produce most of the cloth. The machinery purchased with the generous assistance of the Berry Burn Community Fund has led to significant savings in both time and materials in the factory. This modernisation allows the Mill to produce fresh, contemporary designs woven alongside traditional tweeds and classic woollen blankets – all produced with the same attention to detail and skilled craftsmanship that has always been at the heart of the Woolmill.