Double win for Portsoy in national Prestige Awards
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
The Scottish Traditional Boat Festival and The Portsoy Gift Box have been recognised in the Scotland Prestige Awards.
One of the biggest summer events in the north-east, the maritime celebration received the Scottish Festival of the Year.
And The Portsoy Gift Box was named gift shop of the year in the Aberdeen region.
The awards, organised by Corporate Livewire, recognise small and medium-sized businesses and enterprises that have proven to be the best in their market.
The festival said in a statement: "The Scottish Traditional Boat Festival has won the Prestige Awards Scottish Festival of the Year.
"Judges were impressed by the event's community feel and the passion and personality behind what has become one of Scotland's leading maritime events."
The event organisers also congratulated The Portsoy Gift Box on winning its award.
The statement added: "We're delighted that another Portsoy enterprise, The Portsoy Gift Box has been named gift shop of the year in the Aberdeen region.
"An incredible double achievement recognising the enterprising spirit that can be found in Portsoy from an awards body which celebrates local operators who excel at what they do."
The two-day festival, held annually in June, normally attracts 16,000 people to the Banffshire coastal town. It began back in 1993, initially as a one-off event to mark the 300th anniversary of the historic Portsoy harbour.
Since then, it has become a mainstay of the Scottish events calendar, attracting an international audience.
In 2019, it was crowned winner of the Best Cultural Event/Festival category at the Aberdeen City and Shire Tourism Awards.
Last year also saw organisers, Portsoy Community Enterprise, receive the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service.
Meanwhile, The Portsoy Gift Box's owner Pauline Benzie said: "We were delighted to win the Prestige Award for the Best Gift Shop for the Aberdeen region.
"Our gift shop was founded in 2017 and is a small family-run business. We are proud to promote and support local makers and small businesses.
"The Prestige Awards panel was impressed by our personal touch, consistency of reviews and community feel.
"During the pandemic we have been more than happy to go the extra mile for our customers offering postal and free local deliveries within a 25-mile radius while our shop has been closed.
"We are absolutely over the moon to receive this accolade and chuffed to bits to be able to promote Portsoy too."
The shop also congratulated the festival on receiving its accolade.
Pauline added: "We are absolutely delighted for the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival on winning a Prestige Award for Scottish Festival of the Year and to be flying the flag for Portsoy alongside them."
The store, which is based on Seafield Street, has an ethos to sell carefully selected quality cards and gifts from local makers and small businesses.
It currently stocks just under 100 makers, approximately 70 of which are based within a 50-mile radius of the shop.
It has a diverse selection of gifts such as jewellery, candles, art, toiletries, cards, textiles, glassware, wooden gifts and food.
