Despite extensive promotion online, through programmes, posters and flyers distributed in communities, low ticket sales have led to the cancellation of two events planned as part of the Across the Grain festival in Aberdeenshire, which opens this weekend.
The Big Fat Electric Ceilidh in Inverurie, due to take place in the Town hall on October 12 and The Shelter, a performance of spoken word, live drawing and recorded sound at Peterhead Theatre, due to take place on Saturday, October 26, will not be taking place.
However, there is still the opportunity to attend more than 90 other events around Aberdeenshire as part of the Festival, which showcases the best the region has to offer.
A spokesman for Live Life Aberdeenshire said: "In terms of organising a festival of this scale, which has almost 100 events right across Aberdeenshire, it is not unusual to have to cancel some of the planned events. This is only the second year of Across the Grain and we are very much still testing the waters to see what the people of Aberdeenshire want, in order to improve on future programming.
"We would encourage anyone thinking of going to one of the upcoming Across the Grain events throughout October to book their place - the large majority are free, but we need to be able to gauge interest, especially where the costs may be significant to put on an event.”
The festival continues to establish itself as cultural event in Aberdeenshire and build an audience in the region. Feedback from audiences and the individual successes of events will all be monitored to ensure content can adapt to the demand if the festival runs in future years.
As well as numerous music and singing workshops, there are opportunities to hear authors and specialist speakers, contributions from local musicians, storytellers, award-winning performers and composers and a range of fun challenges for all the family at Live Life Aberdeenshire museums and libraries.
You can view the full programme online at: http://bit.ly/ATGprog