The Scottish Association of Flower Arrangement Societies ( SAFAS ) held a Flower Festival in the Dunfermline Abbey and Nave on 8th & 9th May this year in celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the Association.
The event was titled “Nostalgia” to look back in time and stage floral exhibits depicting famous Scots, Places and Industry. Some of the exhibits related to Robert the Bruce, Robert Burns, Dr David Livingston, Charles Rennie McIntosh, St Margaret and the Fair Maid of Perth to mention a few. Another featured Andrew Carnegie, the Philanthropist who was born in Dunfermline in 1835.
The Festival was staged by 29 flower clubs from throughout Scotland from Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands to Dumfries in the South of Scotland and almost 100 flower club members were involved. The Festival itself was staged in Dunfermline Abbey and Nave which is one of Scotland’s historically significant sites where the body of King Robert the Bruce can be found in a tomb underneath the pulpit of the Abbey Church. The Nave is celebrated as one of the most stunning examples of Romanesque architecture in Scotland.
The event showed off the tremendous amount of talent in flower arranging that exists within SAFAS and brought the art of flower arranging to the fore. Around 1000 people visited over the two days. The logistics and staging of the Flower Festival were very demanding but, from the comments received, everyone thoroughly enjoyed taking part in what was a very special occasion for SAFAS. Linda Soutar, a past chairman of SAFAS was the Festival Organiser and she and a small committee undertook the whole event.
Congratulations to everyone at SAFAS.
Below is just a sample of the wonderful exhibits. Full coverage of the event with official photography will appear in a future issue of The Flower Arranger magazine.
