Big Burns Supper is back and ‘better than ever’
They had to cancel last year due to financial difficulties.
Organisers of the Big Burns Supper are promising this year’s event to be better than ever.
Last year, they were forced to cancel after dealing with financial difficulties.
During their break, the aurora lights made several appearances over the region which inspired the team to brighten up often overlooked parts of the town.
Last night was the launch of the two-week winter festival which will showcase 150 events, and the attendees were taken around the town for a special preview of the Northern Lights Show.
Graham Main, executive producer and founder of the Big Burns Supper says, “We have a new project called ‘Northern Lights’ which we’re previewing.
“Northern Lights is about using empty spaces and hidden spaces that people might not recognise, and, in some cases, we’ve used spaces that people might not have been in for a while and tried to be quite creative with them.”
One of those places includes the former nightclub at the end of the high street above New Look and opposite the Loreburn Shopping Centre.
Our reporter Ruth Ridley joined the tour and along the way, spoke with Cammy Gibson, owner of Cammy’s Barbour – a newly opened shop just off the high street – about his experience in the former nightclub.
He said he was amazed at the transformation:
“It made you feel as if you were actually seeing the Northern Lights – the smell of the pine trees, the sounds and the lighting. It was really nice.”
For the rest of the walk, we saw lights on walls, inside Greyfriars church, in the graveyard near Broom car park and even on the ground of the high street.
Gibson thought the lights brighten up the town.
“Dumfries needs stuff like this because it brings a lot more life to it. It’s good to see a lot more about Dumfries as well and brings out people onto the streets.”
This year’s theme is community, and Graham Main has other plans up his sleeve so the whole of the region can have something to do in their towns and villages.
For the first time, there will be community suppers on Burns Night (January 25th) and they will be held in a range of venues from top to bottom of the region.
Graham Main tells us more:
“The significance of Burns on Burns Night is bringing people together and that’s what Big Burns Supper is all about. It’s not entirely about art, it’s not entirely about carnivals or streets or bands, it’s actually about bringing the community together.
“Our hope there was if you were a visitor or somebody who wasn’t sure what to do on Burns Night then you had something you could do.
“They are so varied, there’s kids Burns supper, there’s young people’s Burns supper, there’s punk Burns supper. As well as that, we’ve got people eating Burns Supper on a bus and even an underwater Burns Supper.”
He says this social event can bring huge economic benefits but also teach new generations about Robert Burns in a new way.
David-Hope Jones, Chief Executive of the South of Scotland Destination Alliance agrees and says it’s vital for the region’s visitor economy.
He said: “We help coordinate dozens of businesses, organisations and local groups to better leverage Burns tourism in Dumfriesshire.
“Big Burns Supper is an essential part of this and a fantastic asset for the South of Scotland. Without fail, it finds new, innovative, engaging and disruptive ways of inspiring each new generation to discover Burns.
“And, by bringing new visitors into our region through January and February, it helps potentially hundreds of local businesses through what is otherwise a hugely challenging time of year.”