It might only be May, but plans are already underway to make Helensburgh a Christmas town in 2023 with a rebranded seasonal festival.
But an appeal has also been made for more people to engage with the town’s Winter Festival – as its committee currently only has four members.
The event has been confirmed to run on the weekend of December 9-10 – closer to Christmas than before.
Committee chair Gail Broadhurst spoke at a meeting on Tuesday, giving details of her hopes for how Helensburgh can celebrate the festive season.
“I am looking to rebrand the Winter Festival as a Christmas Town Festival, which will probably run from the Christmas lights switch-on until late December,” she told Argyll and Bute Council’s Helensburgh and Lomond community planning group.
“This will give something back to the town, with the usual markets, stage, Santa Dash, street entertainers and other attractions.
“We want to try and pull organisations together and have some additional competition ideas. Lots of people ge’s event t right into the Christmas spirit and fully decorate their houses, streets and communities, so why not submit pictures to the local press and support the community?
“I have already started engaging with a number of agencies and organisations, so we have some ideas.”
She said one idea was to use Hermitage Park, where lighting would be ‘awesome’, though this presented potential problems, while there could also be collaboration with the Hill House, which runs its own Christmas events.
“Any charity is desperate for volunteers, and right now our committee consists of four individuals, which is not quite enough to pull together a winter festival,” she added.
“So to do Helensburgh as a Christmas town, I need as many people engaged as possible.
“We have a Christmas shop, two toy shops, award-winning restaurants and great independent retailers. We have great train connections and even an airport is 45 minutes away.
“We have a great Victorian town, and I am trying to embrace all of that with the benefit being longer term, and attracting more and more people to the town.”
More information on the Winter Festival is available at helensburghwinterfestival.co.uk
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