SCOTLAND’S largest rural performing arts festival has an international platform this year for the first time. Combining an outdoor travelling stage, pop-up performances in unexpected locations and a digital programme packed with world-class artists, Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival is returning in a new format for over ten days this July. Starting on Friday (16th), there are 60 events blending music, theatre, dance, comedy and spoken word. New director Melanie Purdie (below) told the Sunday National the festival would mark the start of the highly anticipated return to theatre, gigs and shows following the coronavirus lockdowns. Purdie said the festival, which had to be cancelled last year because of the pandemic, was a “vital” component of the country’s arts calendar each year.