A TOURING celebration of the biggest event in Scotland’s agricultural year is to pay a visit to Dumfries House next month.

The organisers of the Royal Highland Show are marking the 200th anniversary of the event – and its return in-person this Summer after a Covid-enforced gap of two years – with an “immersive storytelling installation” at venues across the country.

The Royal Highland Show Illuminated will stop off at Dumfries House on Friday, March 18 from 7-9pm which will see the annual show’s rich history turned into animated form and projected directly on to a wall at the house itself.

The installations, which are free to attend, will feature a five-minute visual history of the show, told through animations, images, films and archive footage.

They will take place in eight locations around Scotland.

Bill Gray, chairman of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS), which organises the show, said: “The Royal Highland Show will mark its 200th anniversary with an immersive storytelling installation, which will animate and project its rich history onto Dumfries House.

Taking place on Friday, March 18 from 7-9pm, The Royal Highland Show Illuminated will be travelling across Scotland over four weeks, with East Ayrshire’s royal residence being one of the stops.

Royal Highland Show organisers, the Royal Highland & Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS), hope the sensory events will raise awareness of the Show and highlight its positive impact on Scotland throughout the years.

RHASS Chairman Bill Gray commented: “To celebrate the bicentenary of the Show, we wanted to do something special.

“The Royal Highland Show Illuminated is the perfect way to give back to regional communities and the RHASS membership across Scotland and herald the return of the Show.

“After two long years without a full Show, we are going all out to make the 200th anniversary Royal Highland Show the best one yet.

“The events will see a powerful and poignant portrayal of the Show’s value and importance to Scotland’s communities.”

The show is due to return – Covid permitting – to its traditional home at Ingliston on the outskirts of Edinburgh from June 23-26.

As revealed in the Chronicle last month the roster of judges for the event will include four judges from Ayrshire, two of them from Cumnock.

Glen Walsh will be judging the salers class in the show’s beef cattle section, while Andrew Woodburn senior will be responsible for choosing the best blackface sheep.

The other two Ayrshire judges will be Gilmour Lawrie of Prestwick, who has been charged with overseeing the Ayrshire and British red and white dairy cattle class, and Billy Kerr, from Maybole, who will judge the Scotch mule class in the sheep section.

The project has been produced in association with Turcan Connell.

Alexander Garden, Chairman of Turcan Connell said: “Turcan Connell are proud to be involved in this creative project celebrating the bicentenary of the Royal Highland Show.

“We have been supporters of the Show for many years, and as 2022 also sees a big anniversary for our firm, being our 25thyear, the opportunity to become involved in Illuminated as part of the Show’s 200th anniversary seemed rather appropriate.

“We are very much looking forward to being part of this specially curated project and seeing the animations on historic buildings throughout Scotland.”

For more about the installation see royalhighlandshow.org/rhs-illuminated.