DUNFERMLINE'S Outwith Festival has been given £15,000 by Fife Council to help deliver this year's programme of events.

The five day extravaganza will take place from Wednesday 6 to Sunday September 10 and aims to "shine a spotlight" on Dunfermline’s culture, historic buildings and heritage.

As well as art, theatre, film, literature and comedy, the big attraction will be an all day music event with more than 40 acts performing at seven venues across the city on the Saturday.

Asked for a £15,000 contribution, the City of Dunfermline area committee was happy to oblige.

Convener James Calder said: "It was great to see the Outwith Festival return last year.

"It adds a lot to Dunfermline from the cultural and arts perspective but also from an economic perspective.

"I'm pleased we're able to support it as it grows from strength to strength."

It's the fifth outing for the city's festival and this year there will be an international flavour, with a collaboration with a group of artists from Bilbao in Spain.

A report to the committee by Shirley Melville, the community development team manager for the city, said: "Each year the festival brings new types of cultural events to Dunfermline, often genres that previously could only be seen in Edinburgh or Glasgow.

"This year, there are plans to add a comic book event, working with the local business Little Shop of Heroes.

"In terms of financial sustainability, the plan is to raise the profile of the festival in order to potentially increase ticket income year on year."

One of the main attractions will be the all day music event on Saturday September 9 and she added: "This day supports the development of local talent by providing a platform for young local musicians to perform alongside musicians from the rest of the UK and abroad."

Having been cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19, there were fears the festival would not return following the demise of Delivering Dunfermline, the main funders and organisers.

However a band of volunteers stepped forward to make it happen and, with the support of Carnegie Dunfermline Trust, Event Scotland and Fife Council, it proved a hit.

The 2022 Outwith Festival was headlined by Fatherson and Luke La Volpe, while gigs from Dunfermline's Moonlight Zoo, Kirsten Adamson, Dancing on Tables and Foreignfox helped draw in the crowds.