Enchanted Forest organisers plot 2015 expansion

A POPULAR sound and lights show which lures thousands of visitors to a Highland Perthshire woodland every year will be bigger than ever when it returns this autumn.

The Enchanted Forest sound and light show in 2011. Picture: Jane Barlow

Record-breaking crowds flocked to the award-winning Enchanted Forest at Pitlochry during its 23-night run last year.

The annual show, which began 13 years ago, is thought to have helped pump around £2 million into the local economy.

Now the Enchanted Forest Community Trust, which runs the attraction, has revealed the 2015 event will be expanded to 30 nights, opening up an extra 5,000 tickets to meet the increasing demand.

This year’s extravaganza will open on October 2 and run until November 1, a period which now covers both the Scottish and English half-term holidays.

The trust believes this year’s show will be another sell-out, once again attracting an international audience.

Producer Derek Allan said: “The success of the Enchanted Forest is down to the tremendous team involved in producing the event and the fact that so many people from all over the world travel to Pitlochry every year to experience our sound and light show.

“Our audience numbers have consistently increased and our shows have gone from strength to strength to reflect that.”

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He added: “We are delighted to be able to extend the event by an additional week and accommodate the demand from the market for tickets.

“We would still recommend, however, that all customers wishing to attend on special nights or at specific times book early to avoid disappointment.”

The show recently won the Best Cultural Event title at the 2014 Scottish Event Awards and next week, it will go head-to-head with some of the country’s other major shows for the coveted VisitScotland Thistle Award for Best Event.

The 2014 show, dubbed Elemental, raised £5,000 for the Children’s Hospice Association Scotland (CHAS) and Autism Scotland.

Visitor numbers were up by 16 per cent on the previous year’s figures, breaking all its box office records.

Almost 50 per cent of all visitors chose to stay overnight in the area, while 90 per cent said the Enchanted Forest was the main reason for visiting the area during the autumn.

SEE ALSO

• Pitlochry Enchanted Forest show in record sell out

• Review: The Enchanted Forest, Pitlochry (2011)