The Royal Highland Show Community Showcase 2026

For the third year running, Scottish Rural Action (SRA) partnered with a fantastic range of organisations to deliver the Community Showcase at The Royal Highland Show 2026. We’d like to thank The Scottish Government and The Scottish Rural Network for making this collective opportunity possible.

The Royal Highland Show (RHS) takes place every year at the Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston, bringing together hundreds of thousands of people in a vibrant celebration of rural life. The goal of the Community Showcase is to place ‘community’ at the heart of the RHS, alongside the traditional sectors — agriculture, forestry, and fisheries — that have long shaped the event.

This year for the first time, SRA hosted two events on the Friday, inviting partners, members, MSPs, and the general public along, in celebration of four things that give fire to the incredible potential of rural and island Scotland: the Community Led Local Development programme, youth leadership, the Scottish Rural & Islands Parliament and Community Wealth Building. The opening addresses were delivered by Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action & Rural Affairs, Gillian Martin, and Minister for Public Finance, Hannah Mary Goodlad.

As part of the programme, we showcased The Poverty Alliance's exhibition of powerful photo storyboards created by local Citizens' Panel members from Argyll & Bute and Aberdeenshire. The exhibition is helping to change the conversation around rural poverty and inequality. Remaining in place throughout the weekend's Community Showcase, it attracted more than 800 visitors, who stopped to read these powerful stories.

We also screened a series of short films created by the Scottish Community Alliance and The Scottish Beacon, highlighting the work of community organisations pioneering Community Wealth Building in Scotland. Complementing Hannah Clinch's excellent presentation on the regeneration and enterprise activity taking place in Dunoon, visitors had the opportunity to sample delicious, heritage-inspired, locally produced cordials from The POP Shop. We were also delighted to once again welcome pupils from George Watson's College and Lochgelly High School, who worked against the clock to build and dismantle a kit car.

Friday event - CLLD
Shortbread
Gillian Martin MSP
Friday RHS events
Hannah Mary Goodlad MSP
Dunoon Goes POP
Friday CWB Event
The Poverty Alliance

The Weekend Community Showcase featured a fantastic transformation of the marquee's central area by our creative partners, Imagine If, who created a space for creativity and imagination through their 'Hopeful Playful Future' activities, engaging people of all ages. Stallholders this year included SRUC, who ran land-use activities, while Glasgow Caledonian University and the University of Strathclyde facilitated conversations about water in rural places.

Representatives from Youth Local Action Groups shared the importance of youth participation in rural and island communities, while Reforesting Scotland raised awareness of their work and championed Scotland's trees and woodlands. SRA also displayed an interactive map challenging visitors to correctly plot Scotland's islands.

Beautiful music from The Woodsmoke Ranters and the young Balquhidder Whistlers encouraged visitors to pause and listen — a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of the show. Meanwhile, the Woodland Fairies from The Walking Theatre Company brought magic and sparkle, reminding us of the importance of nature and play.

RHS community showcase
STEM activity
The Poverty Alliance TARP Photostories
YLAGs
The Woodsmoke Ranters
The Balquhidder Whistlers
Weekend Community Showcase
Postcards from the future

To everyone who participated in the Friday events, ran a weekend activity, staffed a stand, provided food and drink, volunteered at the glitter tattoo table, or shared your talents through music, art or theatre — thank you. Every contribution helped make our Community Showcase a welcoming, inspiring and memorable space.

We were proud to work with a wide range of organisations, including:

Scottish Community Alliance, InspirAlba, The Scottish Rural & Islands Transport Community (CIC), Borders Community Action, Reforesting Scotland, SRUC, The Poverty Alliance, FEL Scotland, Youth Action Fife, Outer Hebrides YLAG, George Watson's College, Lochgelly High School, Community Woodlands Association, Glasgow Caledonian University, University of Strathclyde, Forth Valley & Lomond YLAG, SCOTO, Imagine If, Open Aye, and The Walking Theatre Company.

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