^{PACIC Executive Summary}

Back in the Spring of 2007 members of the local business community got together in a series of meetings with the organisers of the Enchanted Forest (The Perth & Kinross Countryside Trust)to look at the possibility of retaining the event exclusively for the Pitlochry area. This event brings over 17,000 people to the area over 17nights in October at an otherwise quiet time, and as a result has a tremendous positive economic impact on the area. 

As a result the PKC Trust agreed to consider 'gifting' the event to the community if it could be demonstrated that there was the necessary drive and determination and skills present to run such an event. The community and local businesses responded by setting up the Autumn Festival.

The Pitlochry Autumn Festival is an outdoor street festival which takes place in the centre of Pitlochry and runs alongside the successful Enchanted Forest for 17 nights in October. It includes four street festivals with street entertainment, 17 nights of buskers on the main street of Pitlochry, two 'Street Jam Dance' workshops and performances, a Firework display on the final night of the festival, a Halloween Marquee in the centre of town with fun games for the kids, apple dooking and sticky doughnuts, popcorn, mulled wine and Autumn Festival merchandise for sale along with storytelling inside a Mongolian Yurt and tragical Ghost Tours around the town.

It creates opportunities for local people to showcase their talents, it helps to support local groups and organisations by offering fund raising opportunities, it encourages people of all ages to become involved in their local community through participation and as spectators. It promotes and celebrates the wealth of natural and cultural resources we have in the area, thereby encouraging tourism, stimulating the local economy, raising the profile of the area and creating a positive image for Highland Perthshire locally, nationally and internationally.

Following on from the success of two Autumn Festivals in 2007 and 2008 and the continued and heightened success of the Enchanted Forest, it was decided to look into the possibility of setting up a Community Interest Company to take things forward. The services and advice of CIC expert Clive Sheppard were sought and at an open meeting on 26th February 2009, the setting up of the PACIC was officially announced, local community individuals and businesses signed up as members, and nominations for Directors were received. Further to this meeting a General Meeting was held on 23rd April 2009 and 6 Directors were duly elected. Therefore the PACIC was formally constituted on Thursday 23rd April 2009.

Agreement has now been reached with the Perth & Kinross Countryside Trust and The Enchanted Forest is to be 'gifted' to the community through the newly formed Pitlochry Area Community Interest Company for 2010. The PACIC has strong representation on the Steering Group for the Enchanted Forest for 2009 and has also provided the Chairperson for this year. This is giving us valuable insight to running the event for 2010 and beyond. The Pitlochry Autumn Festival will also be run under the auspices of the PACIC from now 2009 and beyond.

The PACIC has community interest at its heart and the company sees the Enchanted Forest as the event that has the economic strength and provides the commercial benefit to the community and the company, and the Autumn Festival as a celebration of the community.

 The PACIC is the first tourism CIC in Scotland and will open up so many more opportunities for the area and the communities therein. We wish to support local people to build new skills through voluntary placements and work experience, perhaps leading to paid employees and trainees in conjunction with local schools and further education colleges, thereby giving people new employment opportunities in events and tourism. We aim to work with local groups of all ages to help all areas of the local community feel included and will encourage creative and talented local people to realise their potential at every opportunity. We believe in the positive role that sport can play in our lives and will promote the obvious health and participation benefits wherever possible. We would therefore like to include a sports related project in the future as we can see the importance of sport in a broader programme to achieve both economical and social impact for the area.