KBTFEST, launched in Kirkcudbright recently, had a fantastic turnout with approximately twenty 10-12 year olds at the first session and seventy 12-17 year olds turning up later to enjoy music, pool, table tennis and basketball.
Cllr Pauline Drysdale organised the event alongside locals Margaret King and Wendy Gordon as there is a need for an indoor space where teenagers can gather, out-with school, to release some steam and socialise together.
Pauline said, ‘We were delighted with the turnout and the teenagers have consistently been asking us when the next one will be! The healthy pasta and tray bakes (cakes provided by Irvings) went down well and we are going to be in talks with Mark Molloy, the senior youth worker and his team at Dumfries and Galloway Council, re future events.’
‘As a group we’d very much like to thank Lady Hope Dunbar for the hall, the amazing Council Youth Workers for their assistance on the night but also to DJ and performer Raymond MCQuarrie who provided fantastic music and entertainment on the night. It certainly lived up to its’ expectations and we are delighted to have received support from the council in order to take this project further. It’s a basic social need to have a warm, indoor social space to meet and share ideas. In the long term, to some extent, it should help negate the need to congregate in the streets and I’d love to see this project rolled out to the more rural areas as well as Castle Douglas as ‘CDFEST’ and Dalbeattie as ‘DBTFEST.’ There’s a definite need for this to go alongside the fantastic MyPod currently provided by D&G Council.’
