Helensburgh Winter Festival 2021 is BACK!
SINCE its inception in 2012, the volunteer-run Helensburgh Winter Festival has become a key element in the annual calendar of the town of Helensburgh and its surrounding villages and rural community. It has also become one of the largest winter festivals in the West of Scotland.
About Helensburgh Winter Festival 2021 – LIVE Event
It’s actually happening this year – we are LIVE again!
We’ve really missed everyone and we are so looking forward d to making this the BEST WINTER FESTIVAL WEEKEND YET!
Get the dates in your diary – Sat & Sun 27th & 28th November 2021 – hope to see you all there!
Keep an eye on here and our Social Media for the latest updates for exactly what’s on over the weekend and who will be there…
Organisation
A volunteer steering group was established to organise and manage the Festival involving community participation such as from local businesses, third sector volunteers and the wider community.
Delivery
The Festival has been a success every year it has been running. The main events of the Festival take place on the last weekend of November. These have included: a Santa Dash, live Reindeer, fairground attractions, Santa’ grotto, and numerous street entertainers, and much more. Since 2014, A remodelled town square has provided a setting that can and will be able to host more activities adding to the opportunity for the community and others to become involved with events, put more activities on and better support the sustainability of the Festival. Ultimately, the Festival provides an opportunity for the whole community (genuinely encouraging all to become involved) to come together, welcome others and engage in a wide range of activities, some of which they would not ordinarily do so.
Publicity/Promotion
In recent years the Festival has concentrated on using free publicity and in targeting our key audience: Helensburgh & Lomond residents and residents of the surrounding areas. A wide range of publicity material has been used: fliers, posters, URTV, Your Radio, Love Loch Lomond Website, Live Argyll, Helensburgh Advertiser, Helensburgh Community Advertiser, The Lennox Herald, and free-standing large posters, as well as our own social media platforms.
Outcomes
The event has been seen as a success in community terms and has had a positive impact with local residents as well as those visiting. This has created a positive impact for the individuals directly participating as well as the community of Helensburgh as a whole. The range of participants in the Festival includes over 70 local businesses and numerous charity groups such as The Friends of Victoria Halls, the Round Table, Rotary Club of Helensburgh Garelochside, Argyll Voluntary Action, The Grab Trust, Oxfam Shop, Enable and several local churches. Love Loch Lomond, the Helensburgh Clan Colquhoun Pipe Band and the West of Scotland Military Wives Choir also support the event. A mix which further helps bring the community together, encourages and celebrates the role of volunteering and cements community cohesion and spirit. The Festival provides an event of real civic and community involvement, engagement and togetherness as well as providing the community with opportunities to help promote the sustainability and vibrancy of their town. Links are forged between businesses, volunteers, local churches, schools and community groups all to the benefit of the town and its residents.
Future – a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO)
It is recognised that a more formal organisational arrangement is required as the Festival move towards longer-term self-sustainability. The establishment of the Festival and its charitable status is a key governance step in creating that more formal footing for the future development of the Festival for the community.
Please help us continue in any way you can – we are always looking for volunteers who can help out and any donations are gratefully received!
