🧭 Celebrating Fife's Local Heroes

Good morning, Fifers! The summer holidays might be over, but there’s still loads going on in the Kingdom.

Here’s what’s coming your way today:

• Celebrating Fife's Local Heroes

• Fife Volunteer Named 2025 Community Champion

• 60 Events to See This Weekend

Let’s jump in, there’s plenty to talk about!

— Duncan

TOP STORIES AROUND THE KINGDOM

🌿 Fife Volunteer Named 2025 Community Champion

There are countless people doing amazing work in Fife, often quietly behind the scenes. It’s always fantastic to see these efforts recognised, and the latest award goes to Elaine Collins, a dedicated volunteer from Cardenden.

Elaine has been crowned Community Champion at the Scottish Civic Trust Awards 2025 for her outstanding contributions to local access, green spaces, and community wellbeing. Since her retirement, she has devoted countless hours to making Fife’s outdoors more accessible and welcoming. Some highlights of her work include:

• Restoring Bowhill Woodland, transforming an overgrown site into a vibrant community space.

• Creating and maintaining a 4-mile path network in Pitcairn Woods.

• Collaborating with local businesses and volunteers to improve paths, install benches, and plant thousands of bulbs and trees.

• Producing a local walks booklet to help residents and visitors explore the area.

Congratulations to Elaine Collins on this well-deserved recognition! [Fife Council]

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LOCAL HEADLINES YOU NEED TO KNOW

• 🔬 ML Photonic has opened a new 25,000 sq ft facility in Dunfermline, creating 20 skilled jobs with plans for 60. The site will drive precision optics innovation, boosting Fife’s role in global tech growth.

• 🌍 Fife College has become Scotland’s first educational institution accredited as a Bronze Carbon Literate Educator, recognising its leadership in embedding climate action through student training, staff engagement, and low-carbon initiatives.

• 🥩 Fife-based The Farmer’s Son has landed a major win, with its award-winning Scottish Black Pudding and Haggis now stocked at Fortnum & Mason, London’s world-famous luxury department store. A big milestone for the family-run food producer founded in 2017.

• 🐠 St Andrews Aquarium is doubling in size after a £1m expansion, adding new exhibits and rebuilding its seal pool destroyed in Storm Babet. The attraction remains open during construction.

• ⚕️ NHS Fife stroke care has declined, with only 55% of eligible patients receiving treatment within 60 minutes in 2024, down from 65% in 2023, sparking calls for urgent government action and funding.

• 🚴‍♀️ A £4m active travel scheme in Levenmouth is set for completion by March 2026, with new cycle paths on Methilhaven Road and an extended Leven Promenade route linking homes, schools, shops, and rail stations.

• ⚓ Burntisland-based Briggs Marine has secured a major subcontract with Serco to support Royal Navy training and safety operations, managing 15 vessels nationwide. The deal adds to a £250m defence order book this year.

• 🛒 Lidl has submitted new plans for its long-awaited Rosyth store on Admiralty Road, including a new layout, smaller floor space, and 125 parking spaces, with hopes to finally open in 2026.

• 🐟 Ballo Fly Fishing Syndicate fears £30k worth of trout could die within days as Ballo Reservoir dries up, blaming Scottish Water for draining too much during hot weather.

• 💦 Burntisland’s Links splash pad will be replaced with a new £275k wet play area, funded by Fife Council, Fife Environment Trust, the Scottish Government, and a successful community crowdfunder. Opening is planned for Spring 2026.

• ⛪ Culross Abbey may close to visitors due to soaring tourist numbers and a shortage of supervising volunteers, raising concerns about the impact on local businesses as the historic site is put up for sale.

FEATURE OF THE WEEK

Each week, this section shines a spotlight on something standout in Fife, anything from a unique home for sale or a new local business, to an exciting upcoming event or a hidden gem staycation spot. Got something you think other locals should know about? Just hit reply to this email and tell us about it!

🏆 Celebrate Your Local Hero

There seems to be a theme in today’s newsletter: recognising local people who work hard to improve their communities. Continuing that, the Provost Recognition Awards 2025 are now open for nominations. The awards celebrate those making a real difference in Fife, from individuals showing courage, resilience, or leadership, to volunteers dedicating their time to improving the lives of others. They also recognise achievements in sport, culture, and preserving Fife’s heritage.

Nominations are open until 19th October, and a panel of judges will select the top nominees in each category. Winners will be invited to the Provost’s Recognition Reception in December. Award categories include:

• Inspirational Volunteering Award (Individual) – for a volunteer (or group of volunteers) who has made a significant impact.

• Lifetime Achievement Award – recognising someone whose lifelong dedication has left a lasting legacy.

• Inspirational Volunteering Award (Group) – for a group of volunteers making a significant impact.

• Local Hero Award – for someone showing courage, leadership, or resilience in their community.

• Cultural Award – for individuals or groups promoting Fife’s cultural heritage through art, music, language, or diversity.

• Sports Award – for outstanding achievement in sport by an individual or group.

• Provost’s Recognition Award – the Provost’s choice for exceptional achievement and civic pride.

If you know someone who deserves recognition, nominate them today and help celebrate the unsung heroes of Fife.

@THEFIFEINSIDER

📸 Share your photos of Fife with us! Tag @thefifeinsider and you could be featured in the next edition.

WHAT’S ON IN FIFE?

📅 Friday, 22nd August

Hill of Tarvit Guided Tour - Find out more about the people who lived at Hill of Tarvit Mansion House, in this 50-minute guided tour.
📁 Entertainment | 🕢 Varies | 📍 Hill of Tarvit Mansion House | 🎟️ £14.88

Artisan Fridays Market - A lively weekly food market offering hot & cold food on Kirkcaldy High Street.
📁 Markets | 🕢 9am | 📍 Kirkcaldy High Street | 🎟️ Free

Learn Photography @ Fife Zoo - Full day course with Drew Cunningham and Grant Keelan for beginners, amateurs and enthusiasts.
📁 Entertainment | 🕢 10:00am | 📍 Fife Zoo | 🎟️ £50

Hand Building with Eleanor Meredith - Relaxed day working with clay exploring hand building techniques.
📁 Art | 🕢 10am | 📍 Bowhouse, St Monans | 🎟️ £98.15

Edinburgh International Book Festival Livestream: Cressida Cowell - Hear all about Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third and his dragons and learn some epic writing and drawing tips.
📁 Talk | 🕢 1:30pm | 📍 Kirkcaldy Galleries | 🎟️ Free

Fabric Fish Craft Drop-In - Create your own fish to take home. Have a go at stitching or sticking to make your fish.
📁 Family & Children | 🕢 1:30pm | 📍 Scottish Fisheries Museum, Anstruther | 🎟️ Free

St Andrews Heritage Tour - Discover hidden gems, stories, and secrets by exploring St Andrews Castle, Cathedral, and more.
📁 Entertainment | 🕢 2pm | 📍 St Andrews War Memorial | 🎟️ £10

Grass to Grill Tour - A showcase of our organic farming landscape and produce from Balcaskie.
📁 Food | 🕢 4pm | 📍 Bowhouse, St Monans | 🎟️ £65

Psychic Night - A night of spiritual connection with two guest Spiritualists.
📁 Entertainment | 🕢 7pm | 📍 Leslie Town Hall | 🎟️ £10

Lost in Translation - An unlikely friendship between a young photographer and a fading film star in Tokyo.
📁 Entertainment | 🕢 7pm | 📍 Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline | 🎟️ £6

I Know What You Did Last Summer - When five friends inadvertently cause a deadly car accident, they cover up their involvement and make a pact to keep it a secret.
📁 Movie | 🕢 7pm | 📍 Adam Smith Theatre | 🎟️ £6.50+

Dark & Haunting Tales - Meetings with the devil, ghostly stage coaches, accused witches, and body snatchers.
📁 Entertainment | 🕢 7:30pm | 📍 Abbot House, Dunfermline | 🎟️ £20.21

Crail Museum Talks - In the 1950s, Crail became the home of a top-secret British military school: the Joint Services School for Linguists.
📁 Theatre & Stage | 🕢 7:30pm | 📍 Crail Kirk Hall | 🎟️ £5

T.Rextasy: Greatest Hits Tour - World’s only official live tribute band dedicated to Marc Bolan & T.Rex.
📁 Music | 🕢 7:30pm | 📍 Alhambra Theatre, Dunfermline | 🎟️ £28.50

Tributes to Pink & Erasure - Introducing Pink's new Album, along with some of Pink's greatest hits from across the decades.
📁 Music | 🕢 9pm | 📍 The Duchess, Kirkcaldy | 🎟️ £10

📅 Saturday, 23rd August

Hill of Tarvit Guided Tour - Find out more about the people who lived at Hill of Tarvit Mansion House, in this 50-minute guided tour.
📁 Entertainment | 🕢 Varies | 📍 Hill of Tarvit Mansion House | 🎟️ £14.88

Learn Photography @ Fife Zoo - Full day course with Drew Cunningham and Grant Keelan for beginners, amateurs and enthusiasts.
📁 Entertainment | 🕢 10am | 📍 Fife Zoo | 🎟️ £50

Draw to Paint: Ditch the Detail - Learn about simple drawing, popular watercolour techniques, painting approaches, and lots more.
📁 Art | 🕢 10am | 📍 Unit 52 Art Studio, Glenrothes | 🎟️ £40

Indigo Pattern Making Weekend - Specialist dyeing techniques for beginners and those with more experience
📁 Art | 🕢 10am | 📍 Off The Rails Arthouse, Ladybank | 🎟️ £140

Bookbug - Sing, rhyme, and share stories with your little ones.
📁 Family & Children | 🕢 10:30am | 📍 Kirkcaldy Galleries | 🎟️ Free

Rockore - A full day of music from local, tribute and some well known bands.
📁 Music | 🕢 11am | 📍 Lochore Meadows Country Park | 🎟️ £32.50

The Notwitches: Meet the Author & Illustrator - Come along and meet Gary Panton and Dotty Sutton, the author and illustrator duo behind the hit children's book.
📁 Family | 🕢 11am | 📍 Waterstones, St Andrews | 🎟️ Free

Tour of St Andrews Botanic Garden - Inspiring look at how botanic gardens can lead the way in protecting plants, habitats and ecosystems.
📁 Entertainment | 🕢 11am | 📍 St Andrews Botanic Garden | 🎟️ Entry

Craft It! - Bring that project that needs finishing or start something new from sewing to sketching.
📁 Art | 🕢 1pm | 📍 Methil Heritage Centre | 🎟️ Free

Edinburgh International Book Festival Livestream: Chris Riddell & Michael Rosen - Poet Michael Rosen and illustrator Chris Riddell share Pocket Shakespeare: A Beginner’s Guide to the Best Bits of the Bard.
📁 Talk | 🕢 1:30pm | 📍 Kirkcaldy Galleries | 🎟️ Free

Cast ON - A cosy, free fortnightly knitting & crochet meetup for all skill levels.
📁 Art | 🕢 1:30pm | 📍 Kirkcaldy Galleries | 🎟️ Free

Bitter Sweet - Tribute to Sabrina Carpenter & Olivia Rodrigo.
📁 Music | 🕢 2pm | 📍 Adam Smith Theatre, Kirkcaldy | 🎟️ £23.50

St Andrews Heritage Tour - Discover hidden gems, stories, and secrets by exploring St Andrews Castle, Cathedral, and more.
📁 Entertainment | 🕢 2pm | 📍 St Andrews War Memorial | 🎟️ £10

Daytime Discos For Grown Ups - Dance the afternoon away and be back home nice and early!
📁 Entertainment | 🕢 3pm | 📍 Alhambra Theatre, Dunfermline | 🎟️ £22.55

U-Pull-It 1300 Stock Cars SP Utilities Series Finale - U-Pull-It 1300 Stock Cars SP Utilities Series Finale, National Hot Rods WQR3, Stock Rods, and more.
📁 Entertainment | 🕢 5pm | 📍 Lochgelly Raceway | 🎟️ £15

Racewall Nights - Action from Saloon Stock Cars, ORCi Stock Rods, Prostock Basics & Micro F2.
📁 Sport | 🕢 6pm | 📍 Cowdenbeath Racewall | 🎟️ £18.50

Riverside Acoustics - The line up will feature Ed Merchant, Josh Ingram and special guest James Liandu.
📁 Music | 🕢 6:30pm | 📍 Rio Community Centre, Newport-on-Tay | 🎟️ £8

Hamish Henderson: An Artist's Inspiration - Artist Charles Nasmyth takes a fresh look at one of Scotland's literary and musical giants, Hamish Henderson.
📁 Theatre & Stage | 🕢 7pm | 📍 Crail Community Hall | 🎟️ £10

Blor - Blue tribute band.
📁 Music | 🕢 7pm | 📍 Styx, Kirkcaldy | 🎟️ £13.50

Desperados - Eagles tribute band.
📁 Music | 🕢 7pm | 📍 Corn Exchange, Cupar | 🎟️ £18

Forgan's St Andrews Ceilidh - Head to Forgan’s and experience one of our unforgettable ceilidhs.
📁 Entertainment | 🕢 7pm | 📍 Forgans St Andrews | 🎟️ £6.13

Tom Houston - Night of fantastic music and stories.
📁 Music | 🕢 7pm | 📍 Dreel Halls, Anstruther | 🎟️ £16

Tending by El Blackwood - First play to use verbatim theatre to reveal the real experiences of nurses working in the NHS today.
📁 Theatre & Stage | 🕢 7:30pm | 📍 Leslie Town Hall | 🎟️ £10

One in Ten - Scottish UB40 tribute band.
📁 Music | 🕢 7:30pm | 📍 The Monarch Bar, Dunfermline | 🎟️ £11.25

📅 Sunday, 24th August

Hill of Tarvit Guided Tour - Find out more about the people who lived at Hill of Tarvit Mansion House, in this 50-minute guided tour.
📁 Entertainment | 🕢 Varies | 📍 Hill of Tarvit Mansion House | 🎟️ £14.88

Lomond Hills Reservoirs and West Lomond - Circular route around the reservoirs of the Lomond Hills Regional Park, including a chance to summit the highest point.
📁 Sport | 🕢 9:30am | 📍 Holl Reservoir Car Park | 🎟️ Free

Lego Play Day - Open throughout the day for families to get creative with Lego.
📁 Family | 🕢 10am | 📍 The R&A World Golf Museum, St Andrews | 🎟️ Free

Fluid Art for Mindfulness - Focus on the flow and movement of the paint and interaction of the colours as the painting develops.
📁 Art | 🕢 10am | 📍 Cosmos Community Centre, St Andrews | 🎟️ £30

Wee House On A Hill Top Clay Therapy Workshop - Craft your own clay village, one little hilltop home at a time.
📁 Art | 🕢 10am | 📍 Deborah Cameron Creative Artist Studio, Glenrothes | 🎟️ £68

Where The Wild Things Are - After running away from home, young Max finds his escape as the king in a wonderful and magical world of fuzzy monsters.
📁 Entertainment | 🕢 11am | 📍 Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline | 🎟️ £6

Culross Community Market - Enjoy a fantastic day of local shopping, delicious food, and live music.
📁 Markets | 🕢 12pm | 📍 Culross Green | 🎟️ Free

Write ON - Friendly and no pressure creative writing group for amateur and unpublished writers.
📁 Art | 🕢 12:30pm | 📍 Kirkcaldy Galleries | 🎟️ Free

Diesel Day - We will be running diesel-hauled brake van rides on our standard gauge line throughout the day.
📁 Family | 🕢 1pm | 📍 Lathalmond Railway Museum | 🎟️ £6

Roman Holiday - A holiday romance, a thrill-seeking princess, and a Vespa, takes us to the tourist hotspots of the Italian capital.
📁 Entertainment | 🕢 1:30pm | 📍 Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline | 🎟️ £6

Salsa Dancing - You’ll learn the basic steps, get a feel for the rhythm and experience the energy of Latin dance.
📁 Entertainment | 🕢 2pm | 📍 Auchtertool Village Hall | 🎟️ Free

📅 Monday, 25th August

Bookbug - Sing, rhyme, and share stories with your little ones.
📁 Family & Children | 🕢 10:30am | 📍 Kirkcaldy Galleries | 🎟️ Free

🎉 Multi-Day Festivals & Exhibitions

Burntisland Fairground - Rides, stalls, and attractions lining the town’s seafront.
📅 Sat, 31st May - Sun, 24th August | 🕢 1:00pm | 📍 The Links, Burntisland | 🎟️ Varies

Futures by Nick Domminney & Landscapes by Stéphane Abbt - Exhibition featuring works from 2 local artists.
📅 Fri, 1st - Fri, 29th August | 🕢 10am (Mon-Sat) & 11am (Sun) | 📍 Scottish Fisheries Museum, Anstruther | 🎟️ Free

Forthlines - Displays of squares made by people living in Fife, of places that they know and love.
📅 Sat, 24th May - Sun, 31st August | 🕢 10:00am (11:00am Sun) | 📍 Scottish Fisheries Museum, Anstruther | 🎟️ Museum Entry

Making Waves; Breaking Ground - Unique exhibition of large scale paintings and artwork.
📅 Sat, 16th - Sun, 31st August | 🕢 10am (Tue-Sun) | 📍 Bowhouse, St Monans | 🎟️ Free

Unearthed - Step back in time to discover how Scotland was formed and explore prehistoric creatures.
📅 Sat, 8th February - Sat, 27th September | 🕢 10:30am | 📍 St Andrews Museum | 🎟️ Free

Rewrite the Future - Explore how today's choices can shape a fairer, more sustainable tomorrow.
📅 Sat, 31st May - Sun, 28th September | 🕢 9:45am | 📍 Wardlaw Museum, St Andrews | 🎟️ Free

The Lost Words - Featuring original artwork by artist Jackie Morris and spell-poems by writer Robert Macfarlane.
📅 Sat, 28th June - Sun, 26th October | 🕢 10:00am | 📍 Dunfermline Carnegie Library & Galleries | 🎟️ Free

Jack Vettriano Exhibition 2025 - Collection of Jack Vettriano prints, including rare and sold-out pieces.
📅 Tue, 4th March - Tue, 28th October | 🕢 10:00am | 📍 Affordable Arts, Methil | 🎟️ Free

Bunker Shots: Stories of Golf and Conflict - Surprising connections between golf and conflict, including the impact on golfers and their equipment.
📅 Fri, 18th April - Tue, 31st March 2026 | 🕢 9:15am | 📍 The R&A World Golf Museum, St Andrews | 🎟️ £17.50

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THANKS FOR READING

Thanks for reading Fife Insider today. If you found something useful, please share it with a friend in Fife.

Cheers,

Duncan

Got an event or news you want to feature? Or perhaps you’d like to promote your business to readers in Fife? Get in touch with us at [email protected] - let’s make it happen!