2025 Marketplace Style Events
For the 2025 Highlands & Islands Climate Festival we are very warmly inviting applications for groups who have the capacity and connections to stage Marketplace Style Events in their local area. What is a Marketplace style event? Think Climate Fair or mini Climate Festival day.
We’re looking for events that bring community groups together in an area together and through that bring a community together. The Highlands & Islands Climate Festival always creates a fantastic array of small events by all of the amazing community groups in our region and we are still welcoming funding applications (closed on 15th July) for these smaller events. However, we are delighted this year following the success of events last year in Caithness and Lochaber to offer Marketplace event support.
Your event should pull together several groups in your area and must be open to the public. By hosting as a marketplace event it means that you can collaborate with other groups in your area and it gives a central focus on community led climate action celebrations for the public to visit and hear about the work in their communities. Hopefully it also encourages people to get involved!
To submit an application to hold an event visit our funding page linked below.
There is no current limit on the funding available. We just ask that you outline at this stage what it is that you are looking to do and how much would you need to be able to do it. Keep the costs obviously reasonable, we don’t have access to a golden pot! But will consider reasonable costs which can also include staffing costs, room hire, refreshments and an outline of anything else that you might need.
Once we have received your application we’ll get in touch to discuss further with you and what support we might be able to offer with your event. We have community development officers based throughout the region and they will be able to link you with other community organisations in your area who are carrying out community led climate action projects.
We will also ask that as part of your event, you hold a Climate Conversation. We’re working on the detail of that at the moment and there will be a few different ways that could happen both informally and more formally. There is a reason for this - we would like you, the groups who attend the event and members of the public who attend to be the voice of communities at our upcoming Climate Conference as the keynote speaker. Very exciting and more details to be revealed very soon. But don’t worry, it will not be taxing on you as the organiser in any way.
To give you a flavour of what might be involved in holding a Marketplace style event, here are some examples from last year.
Thurso Climate Fair
Caithness Beach Cleans Stand at Thurso Climate Fair
In Caithness, a steering group was set up of various organisations in the area including Cycling UK, Thurso Community Development Trust and Dunnet Forestry Trust. Together, supported by our Caithness & Sutherland Community Development Officer they brought together an event with 15 different stand holders at the Tennis Courts in Thurso for an outdoor event utilising equipment of gazebos and marquees belonging to Thurso Community Development Trust.
Cycling UK were on hand to give trials of the different types of bikes they have available and standholders included those on the steering group and additional groups who are engaging in environmental or sustainability operations. Young people performed music all day to entertain those people attending and there were crafts and activities for young children.
Further spaces included tours of the Thurso Community Development Trust Greenhouses (situated next to the event space) and a Marquee set up with tea, cakes and lots of bunting to have talks including a climate conversation.
Lochaber Climate Fair
A similar type of Marketplace Event happened in Lochaber last year, but indoors. Held at Kilmallie Community Centre the event had a host of activities and climate action community groups taking part.
