Dumfries held its Christmas Lights Switch On event on Thursday 27 November. Large crowds gathered progressively throughout the day and soaked up the festive atmosphere. The Christmas Market in Bank Street was a new addition to the Switch On event. The dozen or so stalls were made up of local traders and were kept busy with a steady flow of people from 10am to 7pm.
And with the Stars from the BBC’s Strictly Come dancing turning up to surprise Local Charity fund raisers Michael and Patsy Pattie , the Crowds Reveled in the festive atmosphere of the whole event ! 
The on-stage entertainment started at 1pm on The Plainstanes and featured an eclectic taste of music, dance and other performances. There were performances from local acts Emma McNeill and Alyth Ross, a Disney sing-a-long, Pantomime performers and a wonderful display from DG Cheerleaders. At 5pm, the crowds were treated to Scottish pop band Rewind, who proved particularly popular with the teenage girls in the crowd!
As well as the on-stage entertainment, there were a multitude of activities available for people of all ages. The mobile Ski Slope and Ice Rink were very popular with children of all ages and attracted large queues throughout the day. Santa’s Grotto and the Snow Globe were big hits with the smaller children looking to ask for that special gift this year, and the fun-fair ride in Queensberry Square was also very popular with revellers.
Dumfries was lit up at 6pm as confetti streamed down in the High Street. Three new lights were added to the High Street this year, designed by Primary School children as part of the Christmas Light design competition which is run every year in Primary schools across Nithsdale. This year, the winners were as follows;
P1-3 – Paul Burns, Brownhall Primary
P4-5 – Eve Marchbank, Troqueer Primary
P6 -7 – Kristina Irving, Troqueer Primary
The winning lights are on proud display on Dumfries High Street – hanging parallel to the Fountain where English Street meets the High Street.
Straight after the big Switch On, crowds were treated to a surprise visit by Strictly Come Dancing stars Anton Du Beke and Alison Hammond. They were in Dumfries as part of the launch of a BBC Comic Relief Strictly special show that is set to be aired next year. As part of the show, Dumfries’ very own Michael Pattie will appear as a contestant, so the BBC used our Switch On event to let Michael know he had been nominated and selected. This added even more excitement and glitz to the Switch On event.
Chairman of Nithsdale Area Committee and Provost of Dumfries, Cllr Ted Thompson switched the lights on with the help of the winning school pupils. He said of the event;
“I hope everyone enjoyed the activities and entertainment and the surprise visit from the Strictly Come Dancing Team. The Christmas Fayre down Bank Street was a new addition to the day giving businesses the opportunity to showcase their goods in a different way. The lights designed by the school pupils looked terrific and the children should be very proud. It was also pleasing to see so many retailers remaining open after the lights had gone on, and the town remaining busy for a good while after the Switch On. I would like to thank all of the performers on the Plainstanes for their performances, I think throughout the day there truly was something for everyone.”
Images of Switch On attached including image of School light competition winners;
Paul Burns (P1-3 winner), Cllr Ted Thompson, Eve Marchbank (P4-5 winner) and Kristina Irving (P6-7 winner)
Other images from the day are also attached
