4 Oct 2025
Craft Hub wins award for Best Community Tourism & Events Initiative
Craft Hub wins award for Best Community Tourism and Events Initiative
The Sanday Community Craft Hub has been recognised with the Best Community Tourism and Events Initiative award at the recent Highlands and Islands Thistle Awards.
The award was presented to them at a ceremony on Friday, 3rd October, in Inverness at the Drumossie Hotel.
They were also finalists in the Climate Action category. This award highlights the Craft Hub's accomplishments, especially in Community Tourism, where local communities manage tourism to ensure economic benefits remain local and visitors enjoy an authentic cultural and natural experience.
The Hub currently supports over 70 island artists and crafters, hosts weekly gatherings for locals, and features a café serving locally grown food, contributing to Sanday’s creative economy.
Both Norma Brown (chair of the Craft Hub Committee) and Tracy Ranger (treasurer) attended the awards ceremony, overcoming challenges such as Storm Amy, power outages at the venue, and an extended stay in Inverness. Tracy expressed gratitude “to the Sanday Community Council and Sanday Development Trust for generously funding the trip to accept the award in person, without which we would not have been able to go. The trip was eventful with the storm, but we wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Competition was fierce, which made winning all the more sweeter.”
Norma stated that “we could not have achieved this without everyone involved with the Hub; our employees, volunteers, committee, and our crafters, without whom the Craft Hub wouldn’t be such a success. This award is not just for us but puts Sanday on the map.”
The Craft Hub has now been invited to the Scottish Thistle Awards for the National Final for Best Community Tourism and Events Initiative in Glasgow in November.