Big Burns Supper gets preparations underway across Dumfries for the biggest Burns Night Celebration the town has ever staged – and it all kicks off this weekend Thousands of participants from school and community groups are busy making final preparations for the Big Burn Supper Festival’s opening centre celebration; the Burns Night Carnival, which will turn the centre of Dumfries into the biggest shindig the town has ever seen – starting on Sunday 22nd January at 5pm running from George Street through the High Street. # Over ten thousand people are expected to take to the streets to line the Carnival route, and over four thousand people will be getting directly involved, making lanterns in preparation for a massive procession of light which will run through the heart of Dumfries to celebrate the sixth Big Burns Supper Festival.
Graham Main, Executive Producer of Big Burns Supper said; “Big Burns Supper is everything that is good about Dumfries. This is a confident, diverse and caring community that welcomes visitors with open arms. The diversity of shows and events that take place across the town curated by a variety of different partners make it one of the most creative places on earth. Our Carnival brings everyone out together, young and old” The theme for this year’s Carnival is Tam O’Shanter which is one of Robert Burns most celebrated works, and will be recreated through visual design, puppetry, dance and music in a stunning outdoor performance that will bring an immensely festival atmosphere to the whole town. Graham Main added “Robert Burns wrote Tam O’Shanter when he lived in Dumfries, and is considered to be his most epic poem. It is a fitting inspiration to the opening of a festival which is ambitious as the Big Burns Supper and perfect tribute to our national bard”
Community spaces across Dumfries have been transformed into creative hubs as a massive team of artists, volunteers and participants work round the clock in preparation for the big event on Sunday, with lantern making sessions will taking place in community spaces all across the Dumfries neighbourhoods. Cara McNaught, the Festival’s Community Producer said; “Big Burns Supper has grown beyond our wildest expectations; we even have a Fringe Festival which has grown out of the original Festival. You know you are something when you have your own Fringe Festival!” “The Carnival is a massive undertaking which has taken nearly twelve months of planning and includes over 450 costumes, involving eight different neighbourhood hubs. Running for the first time and instigated
by Bug Burns Supper, these hubs provide spaces where the Dumfries community can come and interact with each other, working together to create something quite spectacular” Councillor Colin Smyth, Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Events Champion said, “Big Burns Supper’s eclectic, dynamic programme will certainly help chase the January blues away and create great opportunities to celebrate Burns Night and Dumfries’s wonderful burns heritage. There is lots to see and do for everyone during the festival this year and I’m sure the Festival will attract more visitors into the region than ever before.”
A Washing Line with over one hundred t-shirts will be spread across the High Street as part of public art project which the Festival has created from the stories from older people who were asked to reflect on the town’s central area, which will run for the full festival. The bard’s birthday celebrations will see hundreds attend the Burn Night Live event at Easterbrook Hall, which welcomes top local musicians, Emily Smith and Claire Hastings as event headliners. And in addition, the whole event is to be aired live to the world online at www.bigburnssupper.com so that everyone can slip into the spirit of Burns night.
Other highlights include the ‘Sunday Session’ which welcomes back festival favourites, Eddi Reader, Peatbog Faeries and Skerryvore; the all-day and night event presents local artists Skayaman and The Dangleberries for the first time, and sees up to 17 emerging and regional musicians and performers joining the ‘festival within a festival’ production
Big Burn’s Supper, which started in 2012, has now become the biggest Burns Night event of its kind anywhere, and organisers expect over 30,000 attendees across the whole Festival. The Festival will open on the 20th January at Easterbrook Hall with performances of Le Haggis and Lulu. The events will run from the 20th – 29th January, and includes over 200 different shows and events.
Tickets at www.bigburnssupper.com
