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Crowds Welcome Dumfries Market Festival Launch

Despite the damp and dreary weather The Guild Dumfries have hailed their inaugural Dumfries Market Festival on Saturday 14th March, as a great success. Larger than expected crowds turned up to show their support for the new monthly town centre community event, showcasing talented artists, makers, creatives and food and beverage producers from the region and beyond.

 

Visitors also enjoyed a superb lineup of entertainment, live music, workshops & fun for all the family, provided by local community groups, musicians and bands.

Over 20 stalls took part in the launch event at Queensberry Square and Fountain Square encouraging the “Shop Local” message. Revellers danced their blues away to music from local bands Boneshaker, Ukefrolics, Samba Sisters and Dumfries Community Choir plus solo performances by Diane Little-Moss and talented teen, Rory Buglass.

 " It was lovely, the music, the people, the variety - it was such a nice experience. Well done to all x "

" Really enjoyed the music and atmosphere. If you can do that on a miserable wet day, just imagine added sunshine. "

The crowds were also treated to spectacular gymnastics displays by Y-Gymnastics, musical theatre with songs from Annie Jr plus dynamic dance routines from Razzamataz Theatre School.

 

“We are delighted with the turnout and the reaction from the community has been overwhelmingly positive” says The Guild Dumfries Director, Leah Halliday. “It gives the community a taste of what they can expect on a monthly basis from Dumfries Market Festival. We hope that the event will become a date for the diary and something that the whole region will look forward to.”

The Guild would love to hear your thoughts on the Dumfries Market Festival launch. The council gave us the green light in November to host nine events this year, but this will have a six month review. We will be creating a report with opinions from the community, including businesses, , organisations, shops, cafes and members of the public.

 

Its important that you let us know your feedback, comments and suggestions. What type of market do you want to see in Dumfries? We have created an online survey for visitors on the day to complete. It’s vitally important to us to tailor our events to the needs of our community. Please click the button below to take part by the 31st March.

"Brilliant wee market. So nice to see it in town. It gave our town some atmosphere. Thank you. See you all next time" 

" It was a great event, something for everyone. it's sad that it will be cancelled for a while, but the people of Dumfries will definitely attend again as soon as it is safe to do so. It's great to have local community events like that. it's important to support local businesses. "

As a not-for-profit social enterprise, The Guild’s mission is to put the profits back into the company to further benefit the community. We hope that this community market festival will encourage locals and all members of the community to come together and celebrate the very best the region has to offer.

 

Director Kirsten Scott added, “Just imagine how amazing this event will be with better weather and without the threat of a global pandemic hanging over us all! We wish to extend a huge thank you to all our marvellous volunteers, traders, partners and performers for being part of this incredible community event, and to everyone who has supported us. We are eternally grateful”.

The Dumfries Market Festival is scheduled for the 2nd Saturday of every month between March to November, however, after the Government announcement on Monday evening advising that 'everyone should avoid social contact and non-essential travel' The Guild say it would be “careless” for us to continue with our plans for Dumfries Market Festival for the time being.

 

Director Natalie Farrell says, “The health and well being of our community is our number one priority, therefore we are sadly taking immediate steps to postpone the festivals until further notice. We will, of course, monitor the situation daily and hope to resume normal operations as soon as is appropriate.”

 

PHOTO CREDIT | KIRSTIN MCEWAN PHOTOGRAPHY