Helensburgh Winter Festival Returns for 2026 – Celebrating 15 Years!

Helensburgh Winter Festival Returns for 2026 – and We’re Celebrating 15 Years!

The countdown is officially on! Helensburgh Winter Festival returns to Colquhoun Square on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th November 2026, and this year is going to be a particularly special one as we celebrate the 15th year of the festival!

Over the past 15 years, the Winter Festival has become a much-loved date in Helensburgh’s calendar, bringing our community together and welcoming visitors from near and far for a weekend of festive fun in the heart of the town.
And for 2026, we want to make it our biggest and most memorable celebration yet!

A Full Weekend of Festive Entertainment

Plans are already well underway, with a full weekend of entertainment lined up for our Festival Stage, featuring music, performances and plenty of festive atmosphere throughout Saturday and Sunday.
There’ll be lots to keep our younger visitors entertained too, with children’s entertainers and funfair rides for all ages, while our fabulously Festive Market will once again fill the square with a fantastic selection of traders, gifts, crafts and seasonal treats.

The Helensburgh Heart Santa Dash will take place on Saturday 28th, and we are incredibly grateful for their support over the years and sponsorship this year too!

And, of course, no Winter Festival would be complete without something delicious to eat! Our street food vendors will be serving up plenty of warming food, sweet treats and festival favourites across the weekend.

Bringing Christmas Cheer Across Helensburgh

This year, we want the festive spirit to spread well beyond Colquhoun Square and throughout the town.
Our popular Schools Penguin Painting Competition will be returning, giving local schoolchildren the chance to get creative and help us fill Helensburgh with a very special colony of colourful penguins!

We’ll also be launching Helensburgh’s Best Dressed Windows Competition, open to ALL local shops and businesses across the town. We’d love to see Helensburgh looking its festive best, with businesses getting creative and helping us turn the town into a fantastic Christmas destination for residents and visitors alike.
Full details and launch dates for both competitions will be announced soon.

Make Sure You’re Following Us!

There is lots more still to be announced for Helensburgh Winter Festival 2026, including entertainment, activities, traders and some special surprises as we get closer to the big weekend.
Make sure you’re following Helensburgh Winter Festival across all our social channels for regular updates, announcements and everything you need to know.

How Can You Help?

If you would like to help us by volunteering, sponsorship, or providing support in any other way, feel free to send us a message or email us at: media@helensburghwinterfestival.co.uk

Donations

We have an even smaller budget this year due to a lack of funding from Argyll and Bute Council, plus rising costs for insurance, road closures, etc., so any donations, no matter how small, will make a huge difference! You can donate online via our Donorbox page, via the link below 👇

📅 Saturday 28th & Sunday 29th November 2026
🕙 10am – 5pm
📍 Colquhoun Square, Helensburgh, G84

15 years of Helensburgh Winter Festival – let’s make this one to remember! 🎄✨