Stonehaven it's Special Stonehaven it's Special was formed out of the Friends of the Open Air Pool who had recognised the importance of marketing Stonehaven as a destination in addition to the Pool as a tourist attraction. At about the same time, the various events in Stonehaven had been under threat due to cuts in funding and Stonehaven it's Special was formed to co-ordinate events, raise money for these events through sponsorship, marketing and promotion through a house style of brochure, all of which advertise different events as well as providing information on the event in question, and to generally market and promote Stonehaven. Two groups exist - Events Co-ordination and Tourist Group The main executive is chaired by Trudi Clayton a past Chair of the Events Group and very active in organising the Town's Folk Festival. The Events Group is made up of the voluntary organising clubs / groups of the towns community events, who have have come together to support each other including the joint marketing of events and is chaired by Doug Paton who has been very active in the Community Council for several years. Information on all the events supported by the group can be found on www.stonehavenitsspecial.co.uk The Tourism Group folded after a year as the then Chairman who was the driving force behind it stepped down. In September 2004 a meeting was held with a view to reviving the Group. George McGillivray of Webecom Marketing who run the Stonehaven Guide website was appointed Chairman and a committee has been formed with representatives from varying sectors such as, hotels, bed and breakfast, retail, business association, community council and Open Air Pool. The main objective for the Tourism Group for 2006 is to prepare a draft strategy for promoting the area and get feedback from as many people as possible. The group will also be involved with 8 other towns in Aberdeenshire, promoting the area at a major Visit Scotland exhibition to be held at The Exhibition Centre in Glasgow in 26th & 27th April 2006.