It is with great regret that we announce the news that Shetland Wool Week will not be going ahead this year as planned as a result of the ongoing situation with Covid-19.
A huge amount of work has already gone into preparing for the event and we had hoped to be launching membership this month and ticket sales in May. We had planned to take a decision on whether or not to go ahead with the event in June but unfortunately the situation has evolved rapidly both here in Shetland and around the world. Having reviewed the situation, the potential impacts on all stages of our preparation and delivery of the event, and the potential impact on all those involved we have taken the difficult decision to cancel.
We know that this will be a great disappointment to many and for this we are sincerely sorry, however, we know that it is the only responsible thing for us to do at this time.
Many of our loyal Wool Week family will already have booked travel and accommodation for the event and we hope that you will be able to receive a refund or to rebook travel for another time. If you have a booking with a local business we hope that you may be able to move it to a future date as we hope to welcome you back to our beautiful islands soon.
We do plan to keep in touch over the coming year and to bring a little bit of Shetland Wool Week to you virtually where we can. Watch this space and our social media for news and updates.
Shetland Wool Week is run by a small charity, the Shetland Amenity Trust, and like so many others we are facing challenging and uncertain times. We have already invested a huge amount of time and money in preparing for the 2020 event – work which began in August of last year. We announced Wilma Malcolmson as our Patron last month and launched her beautiful free hat pattern ‘Katie’s Kep’ which has already been downloaded over 27,000 times. Many of you have been kind enough to express your support for us and have made a donation to the charity to help us through these difficult times. If you would be willing to make a donation in support of the event – no matter how small – all support is gratefully received and will help us to secure the future of an event which is so important to Shetland and its visitors.
Shetland Wool Week 2021
We are already casting our gaze towards Wool Week in 2021 and we are delighted to announce that our Patron for 2020, Wilma Malcolmson, has agreed to stay on as Patron for 2021. We have already seen so many wonderful photos of your ‘Katie’s Keps’ that we can’t wait to see them all together in person next year. If you haven’t done so already, you can join the Katie’s Kep Knit Along facebook page – and share your progress!
We will announce the dates for Shetland Wool Week 2021 this September and look forward to welcoming you all to Shetland once this difficult time has hopefully passed.
Thank you for bearing with us during this challenging time. We hope you and your loved ones are staying safe and well and we will be in touch soon. More than anything though, we are looking forward to coming back together as soon as we can to celebrate our amazing community.
The Wool Week Team
