The full rip roaring programme for Dumfries and Galloways 2017’s Big Burns Supper, the 10 day
Scottish Winter Festival in Dumfries, has been announced. Dozens of established artists have been
added to the bill, as well as a radical new community arts festival which will take place alongside
the main event in neighbourhoods across Dumfries.
NEW ADDITIONS Eddi Reader, Peatbog Faeries, Skerryvore and Dervish
join Lulu, Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain, Charlie Landsborough, King
Cresote, Seth Lakeman, Nicola Benedetti and Hackney Colliery Band to
perform at this year’s event alongside radical new community arts festival
2017 also sees the festival being extended to ten days in length for the first time, with the addition
of The Sunday Session on Sunday 29th January; a full day party featuring some of Scotland’s biggest
stars, including Eddi Reader, Skerryvore, and The Peatbog Faeries. The day-long event will also
include local bands Skayaman and The Dangleberries. Guests will be able to enjoy all acts for an all-in-
one ticket, with the event running from 2pm.
Retuning this year is the hugely popular Carnival, which takes place on Sunday 22nd January and
includes spectacular shows and events for all tastes and ages. Irish Celtic legends Dervish will play a
special post Burns Night Carnival performance at the Easterbrook Hall on Sunday 22nd January.
Another immensely popular element of the festivities making a triumphant return is Burns Night
Live on Burns Night itself, Wednesday 25th January. This year, the much loved event will be hosted
by double BBC2 Folk Award nominee, Emily Smith, and also event includes over 40 different artists
from across Dumfries & Galloway in a unique show which is suitable for grownups and families
alike. The event will also be broadcast online live through the festival website ensuring that it is as
far-reaching a cultural event as possible.
An essential new element of this year’s festival is Transform Dumfries, a brand-new community
development project that will see eight neighbourhood hubs presenting 35 different events, all as
part of the overall Festival. Events will take place in Lochside, Lincluden, Troqueer, Locharbriggs,
Georgetown, Calside and will include a town centre hub at The Stove, and a children’s hub at the
Theatre Royal. Each area has created its own community programme which is designed to
encourage even more local participation at the Festival.
The Transform Dumfries project created by a team of eight, especially appointed community leaders
who have been working with festival organisers ahead of the Festival. They are exceptionally varied
in content, including everything from a Ghost Tour of Lincluden Abby, to a Pensioners Choir in
Lochside.
Commenting on Transform Dumfries, Executive Producer, Graham Main, said
“Transform Dumfries is about audiences being at the centre of the celebration in their own distinctive
way. It’s all about getting people involved and inviting more people to come and celebrate. The idea
that there are parties and events happening in every nook and cranny of Dumfries, helps to
reenergise Dumfries as a cultural winter destination”
A groundbreaking project, key to the festival’s commitments to making cultural events accessible to
all is Queer Haggis, an LGBTQ special edition of the ever popular Scottish Cabaret sensation Le
Haggis set to will run on Thursday 26th January. Queer Haggis, which will be a South of Scotland
Winter Pride event, will include a host of international queer artists performing alongside the Le
Haggis company in what promises to be the most alternative version of the show to date and a must
see for anyone who wants to be amongst the first to experience this new theatrical phenomenon.
At the heart of Big Burns Supper is the ongoing desire and commitment to make sure cultural
experience is ageless, with events for all generations. Washing Line Project , is a special heritage
project involving over 300 older people who have contributed stories about their memories of the
town. The free public art project will see over 120 pieces of clothing hanging across the town centre
throughout the festival with each piece of clothing represents a memory – a real chance to contrast
Dumfries of old, to the present day
And at the other end of the generational scale, Bairns Day Oot is a special event for children, which
has been created by parents in partnership with Peter Pan MoatBrae and the Theatre Royal. Taking
place on Saturday 28th January, and open to all children under the age of nine, the three-hour event
will see the Theatre Royal transform into a giant interactive playground.
Other key events and activities at the festival include:
- Simply Dylan – John O’Connell’s personal exploration and celebration of the rich and diverse
work of Bob Dylan. The show will include special guests who will be playing their favourite
Dylan songs on Saturday 28th January.
- Paul Foot – Described as a “rare exotic bird” of comedy (Daily Express), Paul first won the
BBC New Comedy Award in 1997, and has since received a slew of other nominations > he
appears regularly on BBC Radio 4. Paul will appear at Theatre Royal on Tuesday 24th January
- Quantum Magic – premiered last year at the Edinburgh International Science
Festival. Shows have received multiple five star reviews, which resulted in a Radio 4
commission and received multiple awards. Quantum Magic plays at the Theatre Royal on
Monday 23rd January
- Festival of Light project – a free event which will run throughout the Festival, from dusk
until dawn, and help to animate parts of the town centre. The project is led by local filmmaker
John Wallace, artist Robbie Coleman and Producer David Smith.
- The 2017 Big Burns Supper includes 145 events which will be performed in 31 different
venues
