Devastated organisers of the Scottish Game Fair are facing uncertain times as they attempt to assess the financial fallout of the abandonment of this year’s event.
Talks with insurers are continuing as the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust stares at a potential financial black hole.
Stallholders have also been left thousands of pounds out of pocket following the decision to cancel the fair’s second and third days.
However, some ”very positive” meetings have been held in the aftermath of the weekend, enabling the trust to begin looking ahead to 2013.
There has been good news for members of the public who bought tickets for Saturday and Sunday, with a promise they will not find themselves out of pocket.
Tickets may be exchanged for next year’s 25th anniversary event, while full refunds will be offered to those who find that option unacceptable.
The trust a charity has also made a plea to ticketholders to consider the voluntary surrender of all or part of the purchase price as a donation to its work.
The difficult decision to cancel what has become one of Scotland’s top summer attractions was forced on the trust after heavy rain turned the Scone Palace site into a quagmire.
Almost 40,000 people were expected to visit over the weekend for the annual showcase of conservation, rural life and outdoor pursuits. However, as conditions deteriorated on what was otherwise a successful Friday, the event was curtailed for the first time in its history.
Fair director David Noble said: ”The decision to close the fair was heartbreaking and was made reluctantly after consultation with the police and local traffic management control.
“The appalling condition of the ground meant we would be unable to park the expected volume of traffic quickly enough to ensure queues did not back up to the M90 at Friarton Bridge. This would have caused a substantial risk of an accident on the motorway.”
Mr Noble said he fully understood many people, including pre-purchased ticketholders, would have been ”severely disappointed” to see the fair cancelled.
He said: ”We are working very hard to resolve what is an extremely difficult situation for all those concerned.”
Meanwhile, the trust’s Katrina Candy asked for patience. She said the charity ”shared the devastation” of trade stand owners and empathised with everyone who had hoped to enjoy yet another successful event.
”We are doing our very best to sort all this out, but at this point we just have to be patient,” she said. ”This is the first time something like this has happened to us and until we hear from our loss adjustors we cannot know what the effect will be.
”The last thing we want to do is give our trade stallholders the wrong information.”
She added: ”There have been some very positive meetings at Scone Palace. We just have to ensure we get through this difficult time so we can begin looking forward to next year, rather than dwell on what has happened.
”We are remaining positive and very much want to do the right thing for all concerned.”More information is available at scottishfair.com