How A Wolf-Themed Festival Aims To Ignite Stirling’s Nightlife

A city after dark tells a different story—and Stirling is ready to write it. We sit down with Kevin Harrison, director of Artlink Central and partner with Scene Stirling, to unveil Culture Night: a citywide celebration designed to spark the night-time economy and turn heritage into living theatre. Built on the energy of Stirling 900, the event blends headline performances with free pop-ups so anyone can step into the action, from castle ramparts to hidden ballrooms and buzzing hotel lobbies.

The heartbeat this year is Carnival of the Wolf, a playful theme rooted in local folklore that invites masks, transformation, and rewilding. Kevin shares how the wolf legend threads through architecture, stories, and community identity—and why that symbolism opens doors for dance, comedy, street performance, digital art, and family-friendly spectacle. We map the shape of the night: a late afternoon start at Stirling Castle, a surge of activity across the city from 6pm, and a spread into the wider area, drawing visitors to explore, stay out later, and discover culture in unexpected places.

Businesses get a clear path to join the party. Learn how venues can host funded acts, create wolf-themed menus or DJ sets, extend opening hours, and feature on a city map that guides audiences through ticketed highlights and free experiences. Kevin outlines the rollout timeline, with announcements and headliners landing at the Tolbooth and the Albert Halls, plus how sponsorship, press, and social channels will amplify visibility. Most of all, hear why the festival’s grassroots core—community commissions, diverse art forms, and local talent—makes this night distinctly Stirling.

Subscribe, share with a friend who loves a good city adventure, and leave a review to help more people find the show. Ready to run with the wolves? Follow updates via council and Scene Stirling channels, reach out at hello@scenesterling.com, and plan your route at yoursterling.com.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:15

Welcome back to the Sterling Business Podcast from Studio King Street. I'm your host, Neil Munday. Today I have Kevin Harrison here to talk about the Sterling Culture Night on the 1st of May. So, Kevin, how are you? Welcome to the studio.

SPEAKER_01 0:33

Good, thank you. Thank you for having me here. I've heard so much about the studio and been following the podcast, and it's it's quite something to be here. Thank you.

From Stirling 900 To A Legacy

SPEAKER_00 0:42

Thank you. No, so uh glad glad you could come along. Um, so uh today we're here specifically to talk about to talk about Sterling Culture Night. But before we do that, why don't you introduce yourself and uh and tell the audience how you're involved with the culture night specifically?

SPEAKER_01 0:57

No problem, thank you. So I'm Kevin Harrison, I'm the director of Art Link Central, which is a local charity, and as part of our role supporting Sterling's Cultural Partnership, Scene Sterling, um, we're working with the council um to coordinate and develop and program uh Culture Night, Sterling, Sterling's first culture night, um, which is uh built off of um some of the creative projects that happened during Sterling's 900th anniversary. Um and so our role's really around engagement, around supporting with programming, and um we've been uh particularly leading on some of the community grant uh-based commissioning that's been happening as well as part of the program.

SPEAKER_00 1:37

Okay, so the genesis of this came from Sterling 900. Yes. Um so for those that aren't aware of Sterling 900, what what was that specifically and kind of how did that unfold?

SPEAKER_01 1:47

Yeah, so Sterling 900 was Sterling's 900th anniversary as a royal borough, and it was an incredible year for Sterling in terms of um reach uh to tourists, to the wider um, you know, it's a wider offer across uh Sterling as a destination, um, and it brought heritage out uh in in all kinds of ways and resulted in major events, commissions, um, exhibitions, all sorts of things happened. Um, but one of the things that we were involved in as part of that was reaching out to the business community and to local organizations. Um, and by the end of it, we had you know something like 130 businesses engaged with the whole overall program. Um, and a fantastic spectacular uh finale event that included a a parade um uh and uh and a night of culture in Sterling Castle.

SPEAKER_00 2:44

Okay, so 130 businesses were there across all sectors, hospitality and other things?

SPEAKER_01 2:51

Very wide range of um certainly hospitality businesses very much engaged with that, but it was quite a broad range of uh food and drink organizations as well, um, local businesses in Sterling that wanted to be a part of of the activities, and and then of course, um um the you know various kind of um organizations that support businesses um such as the Chamber of Commerce, et cetera. So um, and we worked very closely with um the local bid um on the program as well as um your your obvious Historic Environment Scotland, the University of Sterling, et cetera. Um so a really wide range of people being engaged. Um and the legacy of the Sterling 900 is that we wanted to take on some of the events that we had started and build and develop them further, and we wanted to continue that engagement with the business community in terms of culture and its link back to Sterling's heritage.

SPEAKER_00 3:46

Great. So that's where the idea came from, Sterling 900. Um the conversations we previously had, it it kind of feels like a bit like a mini fringe festival for Sterling. Umight, uh we're hoping to do this on an annual basis, right?

Culture Night As Night-Time Catalyst

SPEAKER_01 4:02

Yes as a concept. Absolutely. Um and alongside the work on Sterling 900, Sterling's been working since we were long listed for UK City of Culture a few years back um on a cultural strategy. And one of the key components and one of the key things that Sterling's been trying to work on for many years is the nighttime economy. And this is um Culture Night is designed um to be a key catalyst from that cultural strategy to try and explore the ways that culture can animate the city in a way that that supports the nighttime economy and builds the case for culture being a reason for people to stay in Sterling longer and and and overnight.

Carnival Of The Wolf Theme

SPEAKER_00 4:43

Okay, great. So 1st of May, bankholder weekend is the the big date. Uh it has a theme.

SPEAKER_01 4:50

Yes, so we've been inspired by Sterling's kind of history of folklore, heritage, um, and um the first year's theme is Carnival of the Wolf. So then playing into the idea of the wolf in uh not just in terms of its history with Sterling and its uh sort of mythology, if you like, but also the idea of coming out to play disguise, that kind of um May Day masquerade feel. Um but we wanted the brief um for this to be really open. Um so there's all kinds of ways that uh it can be explored. The theme, um, for those of you who haven't heard of the the Sterling Wolf was inspired by this 19th century tale of uh how the Vikings were attacking the city of Stirling. No, the wolves, uh yeah, the Vikings were attacking the city of Sterling, and then apparently a pack of wolves that were based here um alerted the townspeople and saved them from the Viking plunder. Um, and however true that is, it's it's a story that's stuck, and you can see the wolf um inspired even on our architecture. You've got Wolf Craig building, there's the story of the wolves living on Abbey Craig, um, and there's a rich range of heritage uh around the wolf. Um, so that is our first theme, and it's a really exciting one. You can kind of go down all kinds of avenues from looking at rewilding to being as hungry as a wolf, cultural references around wolves and transformation. Uh so hopefully food for for all the cultural uh folk in Sterling to come up with interesting ideas. Great.

SPEAKER_00 6:25

Okay, so um so what's the kind of typical planned structure for the evening of the first of May?

Ticketed And Free Experiences

SPEAKER_01 6:33

So what we're planning to do is we're gonna um have an homage to the first uh A Night of Culture at the Castle and begin at Sterling Castle. But we're gonna bring culture out to play across Sterling and also we're going to go across the whole Sterling area. So we will see some uh program happening out uh as far as sort of Brigaturk, Killin, um, and uh and Balcoida, um, we're hoping. So you will have some rural programs, but what we really also want to do is really draw people into the city of Sterling and really um get people uh excited to see spaces that maybe they haven't seen before, see unexpected things in unexpected places. So there will be a program of ticketed uh events and experiences, and there will be a range of unticketed um things that people can enjoy. Um, we're already seeing businesses responding with uh interesting food offerings that are themed alongside or drink offerings, um, and we're seeing spaces opening themselves up for free activities that people can access. So uh we will see hopefully um uh uh significant landmarks and buildings that you would normally associate with um uh heritage and history being more playful. You'll see hotels and um restaurants and uh malls and all sorts of things opening themselves up for unusual activities. Um, and we would expect that to be running from about five o'clock at the castle and then things kicking off um in the town uh around six all the way up till late. But we're hoping that we're gonna keep you up really late doing interesting. It is a Friday night. Yeah, okay. Um so it's a great night, it's a bank holiday weekend. There's plenty to see and do around Sterling, and um you'll be able to um in New York finish up your your day and go for a really fun night out and see all kinds of different active activities and events, um, everything from burlesque to outdoor performance to comedy. Um, and then there's some mainstays of Sterling's cultural offer, such as the creative creative uh Sterling um speakeasy events that will be connecting up. So we'll expect to see um the whole of Sterling alive with culture that night.

SPEAKER_00 8:57

That's that's great. And it's just kind of what the city needs, I think. It you know, kind of probably just needs that little bit of injection of something different every now and again. Um so you you talked a little bit about kind of venues and and business in general businesses opening their doors. So is there an opportunity still for businesses to get involved in the in the program?

Businesses: Ways To Get Involved

SPEAKER_01 9:18

There is. Um and I I mean it this is a um jigsaw of an event. Um we had did a fantastic call out to um creatives and um communities and had a ton of ideas and uh and applications. And then what we've got is a series of opportunities for businesses to get involved and host a free event that could be one of the funded projects, um, and we're just slotting those jigsaws into place at the moment. Um, but also potentially there is um some uh live music that could be programmed in, and businesses can program their own themed activities as so long as there is a really clear, free offer of culture. We're really keen to see businesses um keep um their doors open really late, and we want to encourage more late-night activity as uh and as much as possible. Um, so if if there are music um opportunities, comedy, uh any kind of late-night performance DJs, um, then that that's going to help keep it all out for longer. Um there already is a whole raft of um around 30 different performing acts already programmed, but there's room for more. And what we're trying to do is work closely with venues to try and offer something that's unusual but fits with what their um their you know their um remit is, what their their kind of vibe is, and and try and get uh a night where people will wander through and see an unusual place or go visit a familiar one and see something completely unexpected. Great. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:56

So I guess if some local businesses do get involved, is there an uh well, first of all, how how do they get involved? Do they contact yourself or through your office, or how do they show their interest?

SPEAKER_01 11:08

Well, so we have um through um the GoForth Sterling bid circulated a menu, um, a bid menu of some of the opportunities. But at this stage, I think the easiest thing is to get straight in touch with myself and then I will link uh people up with um appropriate members of the Sterling Council team or myself. Um the ways to get involved are to probably get in touch with me via um hello at scenesterling.com.

SPEAKER_00 11:34

Hello at scenesterling.com.

SPEAKER_01 11:36

Yes, hello at scenesterling.com. Um, and um you can find me as well on five to seven uppercrakes um street in Sterling. Um, we are open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the public, but you can always chap on the door if you want to try and have a quick conversation. I've been popping out to see businesses and have a have a look at what the spaces are and try and talk to them about what they can offer. Um, some businesses are interested in uh in the the food offering they can do, some are just interested in getting people through their doors who haven't been, who've got new businesses and really established businesses um in touch. And um, of course, some some businesses might be wanting to look for people to stay overnight with them as well, and we're keen to to see how we can support with that. As long as there's uh an interest in doing something that uh has a free offering, um, there are opportunities, of course, to then you know um offer other things that would generate some income as well. And we're seeing people wanting to, you know, really step outside their comfort zone and try something new.

SPEAKER_00 12:38

Good. Okay. So I was going to kind of ask that is there an opportunity for businesses to you know promote themselves or what have you before the event? And I think the answer is probably yes. If if there's a message or there's a there's a theme that they're supporting in some way, um, you know, like a hotel is a good example. You mentioned overnight accommodation, then you know, packaging offers for that weekend might be a good idea, for example. A hundred percent.

Marketing, Sponsorship, And The Map

SPEAKER_01 13:03

Yeah. Well, so there's a few things happening there. So we we obviously have created a culture night sterling brand, um, and the council's leading on that, and we're working with the commons department. There's lots of opportunities um through uh press, radio, and and any other media that um that that that um we can get the message out there about what venues and businesses are offering on the night. So that will all come as the program is launched. Um there's opportunities to get involved in sponsorship, and we've had a couple of uh inquiries around that. Um, and certainly um if if there are businesses out there that are looking to you know um promote themselves through supporting culture, that would be a really great message. Um, and we'd be really keen to hear from them, and I can link them up with council colleagues um to support that. Um and um and hopefully the um marketing and publicity around us will create a map and uh will get people on the map and businesses on the map uh and help them to see inside the businesses and spaces that they haven't. I've been poking my nose into ballrooms and uh meeting rooms and conference suites and podcast centers. So, you know, it's it's been really exciting to see um uh new and really, really established businesses all kind of jumping to to try and be a part of it because they they want to see a vibrant nighttime economy, but also because they really want to speak to different audiences.

SPEAKER_00 14:35

Okay, so good example, what we what we can do, what we can offer is um a platform, so that's a podcasting platform, uh, to keep on top of those communications uh so we can kind of keep the message going in the coming weeks over the next couple of months until the actual event itself. So on that basis, um what does the program rollout look like in terms of announcements, communications?

SPEAKER_01 14:58

Right. So um there's a sort of soft launch beginning now um and running through the next two weeks. We expect to be able to do uh more major announcement on the 11th of March. Um, and we will certainly be announcing at least one headline.

SPEAKER_00 15:12

And where will those announcements uh typically be found?

SPEAKER_01 15:16

That will be coming through the council's press and communications um mechanism, so it will be well promoted on social media and also by the Tollbooth, Albert Halls, and Zean Sterling. Um so we would expect to have a good degree of interest from the press on that. Um, and that will come out publicly. So uh I think we expect to announce uh a first cohort of of acts um and a headline, at least one headline act um on the 11th of March. Um and the headline um acts will be at the toll booth and the Elbert Halls. Um so we can expect um some ticketed announcements around that very soon. Um, but really excited to see everything from small community arts projects and uh grass-led activities all the way up to you know some really established acts performing on the night uh to give people a flavor of everything that Sterling has to offer, but also give everyone a platform to shine.

SPEAKER_00 16:17

Okay, so we'll maybe get one of your colleagues on towards the end of the month and yeah, provide an update in terms of some of the specifics that are going to be hit hitting us on the first of uh first of May. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 16:30

It would be lovely to do that and to share some of the the details that are starting to emerge as we pull this this really exciting but uh organic event together.

SPEAKER_00 16:41

Yeah, so who knows? I might even uh be you know try try and become the uh the wolf of King Street.

Wolves Everywhere And Visitor Boost

SPEAKER_01 16:46

Oh, that'd be brilliant. I'll take you up on that. There will certainly be wolves on the day, and uh you can certainly expect everybody to be um making wearing masks, costumes. There will be wolves everywhere. Um and I think that in itself will be quite a spectacle. So even uh people arriving uh on the streets will see something a bit different about Sterling um for Carnival of the Wolf. It will become really literally filled with wolves.

SPEAKER_00 17:14

Yeah, it's probably a good time of year as well because um you're kind of a month into the to the tourist season, uh so you're probably gonna get a lot of international visitors in town uh over that period. I remember last year from a hotel point of view, we uh we had a pretty busy May, actually. It was one of our busiest months uh throughout the year. So, you know, it'd be a pretty good month to you know show Sterling off.

Grassroots Energy And Diverse Acts

SPEAKER_01 17:37

I think May always looks Sterling always looks great in May, but uh I think as well um it's gonna be that sort of complete um takeover of that town centre city centre with you know kind of activities, everything from dance, movement, performance, um, and and interactive digital um projects, as well as um opportunities to get hands on that's gonna give everybody a bit of uh something to some spec some spectacle and then something to get their hands uh into um on the night. Uh so yeah, it's I really um uh expect people to be surprised by at least some of the things that they see on the night, uh astonished by some of it, and engaged by as much of it as we can get them engaged in. It's really exciting, it's a very unusual product. It's also very grassroots-led as well. And I think one of the things that you know I think makes for a good festival is when you can see that local talent, local ideas, and local people have been involved in in making it. When we put the call out for this, we didn't know what we were gonna get, but uh people have really responded to this brief and really kind of pulled out all the stops in terms of ideas. So it is gonna be a very diverse program. Um, it's going to be representing lots of different communities and lots of different types of people and performing arts experiences. Um, we've you know, we can expect um uh multicultural um uh art forms. Uh yeah, there's gonna be a lot there that people can get excited by.

SPEAKER_00 19:11

Yeah, that's great, and it builds very nicely on the whole concept that creative sterling, made in sterling, artists from Sterling, performing arts from Sterling, so and the wide default value, obviously, but um but it but it's great to really kind of put uh Sterling even more on the map from a kind of creative arts perspective.

SPEAKER_01 19:30

Oh a hundred percent. And I would expect um the sort of the majority of cultural organizations of which Sterling boasts many for the size that we are, to be involved in in some way or form and bringing something of what they have to offer to the table. So uh we I think it will be a real treat for anyone who's in the town on that night, and hopefully that it'll be full.

SPEAKER_00 19:53

Brilliant. Well, thank you for coming along, Kevin, and uh telling us a little bit about the Sterling Culture night. Um again, as I mentioned, we'll bring uh your colleagues back in uh sometime soon to continue to unfold the uh or un unpack the box, if you like, of uh all the goodies that are to come. Well, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 20:10

And yeah, for anyone who is looking to you know um get in touch, obviously get in touch at hello at scenesterling.com, or if you're looking to be a punter on the night, um yoursterling uh dot com will have all the information. That's yoursterling.com on on on on the night, but you can also follow the the council channels, the scene sterling channels, and um I'm sure that you'll be seeing wolf um themed cultural offers all over the shop pretty soon. That's great. Well, thank you again. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 20:42

Cheers. Uh thank you again for attending the Sterling Business Podcast. Uh, great to see arts and culture uh really making a difference in the city centre of Sterling. So thank you to Kevin uh for coming along today to talk to us about the Sterling Culture Night, uh scheduled for the 1st of May 2026. So hope to see you all there.