Helensburgh Winter Festival 2024 is Back For A Magical Celebration

Helensburgh Winter Festival 2024 is Back For A Magical Celebration

Helensburgh Winter Festival 2024 is Back For A Magical Celebration!

Colquhoun Square, Helensburgh, – Saturday 30th Nov & Sunday 1st Dec, 2024

Get ready to warm up your winter with the Helensburgh Winter Festival 2024!

This FREE Festive Community Event will be held on Saturday 30th November and Sunday 1st December from 10am-5pm, bringing a burst of cheer and joy to the heart of Helensburgh.

What to Expect:

  • Festive Market: Explore a vibrant market filled with unique gifts, handmade crafts, and delicious local treats
  • Live Entertainment: Enjoy the sounds of talented choirs, musicians, singers, and performers as they fill the air with festive melodies
  • Children’s Activities: Keep the little ones entertained with fun-fair rides, activities, competitions, face painting and, of course – Santa & Mrs Claus will be back with their grotto and elves!
  • Delicious Food and Drink: Indulge in a variety of warming winter street food and festive drinks to keep you cosy
  • Saturday Santa Dash – Sat 30th Nov sees the return of the Helensburgh Heart (formerly Round Table) Santa Dash as part of the Festival
  • Community Spirit: Experience the true spirit of Christmas as the community comes together to celebrate.

Join us for a weekend of fun, festivities, and unforgettable memories. Mark your calendars and make plans to attend the Helensburgh Winter Festival 2024!

VOLUNTEER:

If you wish to help our very small committee by volunteering, or just give us a helping hand at the festival, please email us – media@helensburghwinterfestival.co.uk

VENDORS Application:

If you are a small business, stall holder or food vendor and wish to join us for the weekend, please use the Application Form below to apply via SHS Events:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd36X_CLYpAiAeF-ZJvDxByV9QNTKRsVQ4LluzcgUdJHNaT7g/viewform

DONATE to keep the festival alive:

We are a Scottish Registered Charity that relies on funding and donations, so we’ve started a Crowdfunder page to help make the festival as good as it can be for the whole community and raise funds to keep it going – any small amount you can give will be greatly appreciated!

Donate via this link – https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/helensburgh-winter-festival-sc046881

SPONSORSHIP –

If you are a local business, and wish to sponsor the Festival in some way, you can also help, and we will give you lots of promotion and advertising in return!

Please email us at – media@helensburghwinterfestival.co.uk

We look forward to celebrating the magic of the festive season with you in Helensburgh this year!

Helensburgh Dazzled with it’s Midsummer Magic Festival This Summer!

Helensburgh Dazzled with it’s Midsummer Magic Festival This Summer!

Helensburgh Dazzles with it’s Midsummer Magic Festival This Summer!

Colquhoun Square, Helensburgh, – Saturday June 22nd, 2024

Prepare for a day filled with summer fun and family entertainment! This Saturday, June 22nd, Helensburgh will come alive with it’s Midsummer Magic Festival, a celebration of summer fun for the whole family.

The festival, taking place in the heart of Colquhoun Square from 10am to 5pm, promises a vibrant atmosphere brimming with delightful surprises. Browse a charming selection of market stalls, showcasing local crafts, treats, and treasures. Indulge in a global culinary adventure with a diverse range of street food vendors, tantalizing your taste buds with delicious offerings.

Keep the little ones entertained with a thrilling funfair, complete with exhilarating rides and captivating games. There’s facepainting from Young at Art to get your Festival Vibe on!

Special guests, Encanto’s Mirabel and The Dark Fairy from Wicked Entertainment will be joining us, for all the Disney Fans to meet and greet and singalong with!

The HMS Neptune Volunteer Band will officially open the festival on Saturday morning, then throughout the day, we have David Dennett of Lomond Radio hosting talented musicians, creating a lively soundtrack for the festivities. Plus, performances from local dance schools, The Dance Academy and Clair Burns School of Dance.

More than just a summer celebration, the Midsummer Magic Festival serves a special purpose. Organized by the small, dedicated team of volunteers behind the hugely popular Helensburgh Winter Festival and Christmas Town events, the proceeds from this event will go towards making the upcoming winter festivities happen. The Helensburgh Winter Festival is in it’s 12th year, but is under threat due to a drastic cut in funding, so if you want the festival to happen again later this year, please come along and give your support.

For full details of what’s happening and the full entertainment lineup, follow our Facebook, Instagram or TikTok – and check the website https://www.helensburghwinterfestival.co.uk/

Event Details:
• Date: Saturday, June 22nd, 2024
• Time: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
• Location: Colquhoun Square, Helensburgh
• Admission: Free
• Donate to keep the festival going online – https://donorbox.org/helensburgh-winter-festival 

For inquiries or help volunteering, please contact:
media@helensburghwinterfestival.co.uk

Join the merriment and create lasting memories at the Helensburgh Midsummer Magic Festival! Don’t miss this enchanting day filled with vibrant market, delicious food, thrilling rides, and toe-tapping music.

We look forward to celebrating the magic of summer with you in Helensburgh this weekend!

Get Ready for Midsummer Magic!

Get Ready for Midsummer Magic!

Get Ready for Midsummer Magic!

Work has begun organising this year’s Christmas Town events and Winter Festival… and it all kicks off at Midsummer!

As part of a campaign to raise awareness and funding for the Winter Festival, the team are planning a one-day event, ‘Midsummer Magic’ which will feature a very special magical market and lots of other fun things to do with music to set the beat for the day. Vendor Bookings are now open, and you can apply with SHS Events via the link below.

Planning is in the early stages for this and this year’s Winter Festival, which will be held on Saturday, November 30th, and Sunday, December 1st. The Penguin Crew is open to new ideas and suggestions to ring in the changes.

We want to hear from anyone who would like to organise something throughout December as part of the Christmas Town Month, be it a concert, panto, festive workshop, Christmas Tree display or something completely different.
We are keen to add some new faces to our (very small) Penguin Crew, and we need lots more hands on deck to make this, the 12th Winter Festival, the very best ever!

You can sign up for it all or just organise something with your own groups. We also need plenty of people to help on the two days of the Winter Festival, helping with the setup and takedown, manning the road closures, and generally helping things run as smoothly as possible.

If you have some ideas for things that you could organise or help to organise, or if you would like to join the Crew to provide the background support that is needed for events like this or just want to help over the festival weekend, please contact HWF Chair, Gail Broadhurst by email at: chair@helensburghwinterfestival.co.uk

We are officially one of Scotland’s most ‘Instagrammable’ Christmas events

We are officially one of Scotland’s most ‘Instagrammable’ Christmas events

Helensburgh Winter Festival is OFFICIALLY one of the most Instagram-worthy Christmas events in Scotland!

We are officially one of Scotland’s most ‘Instagrammable’ Christmas events – NEW DATA from Protectivity Event Insurance has revealed the most Instagram-worthy Christmas events in Scotland, with Helensburgh Winter Festival taking 9th spot in the TOP 10!

The Winter Festival  was ranked ninth on the list, coming in one place ahead of the Glasgow Christmas Lights Switch-on! Edinburgh Christmas Market tops the list as the most ‘Instagrammable’ event, with an impressive 56,218 hashtags.

We are absolutely delighted to take the 9th spot among the much larger, financed, commercial events such as the Glasgow Christmas Market and the Irn-Bru Carnival.  It comes as a huge boost this year, being announced just two days before the festival is due to take place.

Our Festival Committee Chair, Gail Broadhurst, was delighted to hear the event had ranked so highly. She said: “Wow! That is just incredible news”.

Protectivity analysed and ranked over 84,000 Instagram posts featuring location-specific hashtags for 42 Scottish Christmas events to create their list of Scotland’s top Christmas spots. A spokesperson for the organisation said: “This scenic coastal town is affectionately known as ‘The Christmas Town’ by locals, and for good reason. “Despite only running for one weekend, this event packs in a Santa Dash, Live Stage Entertainment, Santa’s Grotto, Fairground Rides, and a Christmas Market with around 100 stalls.”

You can read the full article and who else made it onto the list in the Scottish Business News Website

 

 

Helensburgh’s Best Dressed Window Competition

Helensburgh’s Best Dressed Window Competition

Does your business have the Best Dressed Window in Helensburgh? 🎄

As Helensburgh is officially THE ChristmasTown, we have launched a competition in collaboration with the Helensburgh Business Group for all the local shops and businesses to get involved!
We are looking for the best dressed Christmas windows this Christmas & there are prizes for 1st, 2nd & 3rd places.
All the shops (listed below) who are participating, are displaying a small card (beautifully created by Jane Worsfold of Bat Cave Cards) in thier shop window.
Public voting opened on December 1st.
The winners will be selected by the public vote.
Winners will be announced on December 23rd

How to vote –

To vote for your favourite, simply call into any of the shops participating and pick up an official entry form.
Look for the 18 golden windows to spot the entrants.
You can choose your 3 favourites and hand your form in to either The Olde Christmas Shoppe or Grasshopper Toys to get a wee treat!

Businesses taking part…

  • Paper Kisses
  • Grasshopper Toys
  • The Gifting Tree
  • The Olde Christmas Shoppe
  • Dementia Scotland Resource Centre
  • The Wedding Planner
  • G & S Coyle Fishmongers
  • Elegance Boutique of Helensburgh
  • The Scandinavian Shop
  • Helensburgh EyeCare
  • Helensburgh Pet Shop
  • British Heart Foundation Helensburgh
  • Tweedie
  • Pitter Patter Potter
  • Harley’s Vanity Box
  • Helensburgh Flowers
  • Nature’s Harvest
  • Front Room Gallery
Helensburgh Winter Festival 2023 – Latest Updates!

Helensburgh Winter Festival 2023 – Latest Updates!

Helensburgh Winter Festival 2023

The Helensburgh Winter Festival is an annual event celebrating the holiday season in style. It brings together various local Community Groups with a variety of activities and attractions for all ages, making it the perfect festive day out for families and friends of all ages.

Held in the historic seaside town of Helensburgh, Scotland, this festival has become a much-anticipated tradition for locals and tourists alike since its’ inception in 2012. From dazzling Christmas light displays, festive market stalls and street food, to our festival stage with great performers; there’s something for everyone to enjoy at the Helensburgh Winter Festival 2023.

But what makes the 2023 festival so special? Let us give you a sneak peek into all the exciting things that await you at this year’s event!

A Whole Month of Christmas Town Celebrations!

Starting with the Christmas Lights Switch-on, on Sat 18th Nov, the celebrations will run for a whole month – with the Festival weekend on Sat 9th & Sun 10th of December! That’s right; you have an entire month to soak up all the festive cheer and joy in our charming Scottish town!

So, what can you expect throughout Helensburgh – The Christmas Town during the festive season? There will be Christmas Concerts, Lights display and decorations in Hermitage Park, Panto in Victoria Halls, Art Exhibition with Helensburgh Art Hub, Santa’s Submarine at the Submarine Centre, Christmas Movies in the Tower Arts Centre, our local schools Penguin Painting Competition, plus a whole host of Community Group projects & events, which we will keep you updated on via our Social Media Channels.

The Festival Weekend – A Festive Extravaganza!

As the grand finalé of the month-long celebrations, the Festival Weekend promises to be an unforgettable experience. We have a very special guest coming along to officially open the festival, and Helensburgh’s very own Clan Colquhoun Pipe Band. With over 100 market stalls offering unique and handcrafted gifts, delicious food and drink options from local vendors, tombola and raffle prizes, and live music and dance performances from talented artists; you’ll have plenty to see, do and enjoy.

Don’t miss out on the traditional festive treats like a visit to Santa’s Grotto, a ride on the Miami Flyer, and our famous Round Table Santa Dash which takes place on the SATURDAY this year. And if that’s not enough, there will also be panto-themed street performers, funfair rides for all ages, and a spectacular finalé to mark the end of the festival.

Save the Date – 9th & 10th December 2023

The Helensburgh Winter Festival has become a beloved tradition for our town and its residents, and we are already looking forward to the next one in 2023. We can’t wait to welcome you all back to celebrate the festive season with us once again.

In the meantime, keep an eye out for updates on our social media channels and website as we have lots of fabulous festive fun planned. We value your feedback and suggestions, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any ideas or comments you may have.

Festive cheer all year round

But just because the Helensburgh Winter Festival only happens once a year doesn’t mean the Christmas Town spirit has to end. Keep the magic alive by supporting our local businesses and artisans throughout the year. From unique gifts to delicious treats, there are plenty of ways to spread joy and support our community all year round.

So gather your loved ones, bundle up in your warmest winter woollies, and join us for a weekend of festive fun at the Helensburgh Winter Festival 2023!

Let’s make unforgettable memories together once again. See you there!

Follow us on Social Media to keep updated on the latest! Click on the links below…