Highlights Rural Touring Scheme

Highlights Rural Touring Scheme presents vibrant, entertaining and thought-provoking cultural activities to enrich the lives of people in rural communities across the north of England. The scheme connects over 65 venues, an army of volunteer promoters and an ever-growing list of artists and, together, we light up village halls, schools and community centres with music, dance, theatre, storytelling, arts and craft.

Set up originally to work with isolated communities in the North Pennines, we now work across Cumbria, County Durham and Northumberland. Across the three counties, many communities have suffered from long term economic decline, resulting in pockets of high unemployment, poor transport links, declining local services and social isolation.

We are one of 30 similar schemes which support professional arts in over 1,000 small community venues throughout the UK, playing an important part in the social life and sustainability of their community and supported by the National Rural Touring Forum.