Launch of Inverness Winter Festival
Plans for the first Inverness Winter Festival – aimed at boosting trade for local businesses and putting the city on the Scottish winter festival calendar - were unveiled today (Thursday). The festival opens on Thursday 22 November with the switch on of the Christmas Lights and the opening of an artificial ice rink at Falcon Square and closes on Saturday 12 January, next year, with Highland Lights, the grand finale of Highland 2007, the year that Scotland celebrates Highland culture.
St Andrew’s Day and Hogmanay will be other highlights in a comprehensive programme of events to please local residents and visitors alike.
Provost Bob Wynd, Chairman of The Highland Council’s Inverness City Committee, said: “The Council is delighted to play a key role in supporting a winter festival in our city. This will be of benefit to local people, local businesses and visitors to our city over the festive period. Success will mean we will win a place in the Scottish calendar of winter festivals.”
The festival has been initiated by the Inverness Business Improvement District (BID) Project team as a demonstration project to show local businesses what can be achieved if they vote yes to an Inverness BID next year. It has the backing of The Highland Council and Highland 2007.
A prominent new feature of the city centre is the presence of an ice rink at Falcon Square. It will be open every day from 22 November – including Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. The charge will be £3 for a 45-minute session. The BID team is writing to 200 schools around the Highlands inviting them to take part in free skating sessions in the mornings and 350 pupils from five schools have already booked their sessions.
Inverness BID is led by a steering group made up of local businesses and chaired by Garek Begg. He is delighted that the £35,000 invested by local businesses has allowed the BID team to attract a further £65,000 to give a fund of £100,000 for the festival.
He said: "The city centre has a lot to offer through unique quality and value shopping, dining, cafes and entertainment and we hope that during the Festival residents and visitors will enjoy the feel-good festive atmosphere. I've am confident the Festival will be a great success and show businesses what Inverness BID can do to bring more customers in to the city. We'd like to see this become one of a number of annual events, placing Inverness on the national and international map throughout the year. If local businesses vote yes to a BID we will deliver many more high profile events to make Inverness the "must see" destination."
To celebrate St Andrew’s Day on Friday 30 November, a fun day is planned in the city centre, featuring a Strip the Willow on the hour from 9 am – 4 pm in the Eastgate Centre. The idea is to encourage school, business and multi-cultural groups to take part each hour.
Jackie Cuddy, Manager of the Eastgate Centre, is fully backing the festival and hosting the core attraction of the festival, the ice rink at Falcon Square. Characters in the Eden Court pantomime, Peter Pan, will feature prominently in regular activities at the ice rink.
She said: “The Eastgate Centre is delighted to be part of this exciting initiative. It is so good to see all the different organisations coming together as one. In particular, it gives me great pleasure to be working alongside the Old Town. BIDs will hopefully give the opportunity for such relationships to be developed further together as one. The winter festival has evolved quickly due to such strong support and I am sure it will be a huge success and persuade businesses to vote yes for an Inverness BID next year.”
The climax to the Winter Festival is Inverness’ finale for Highland 2007, Highland Lights.
Fiona Hampton, director of Highland 2007, said Highland Lights, a spectacular fireworks display focused on the Kessock Bridge, will be a brilliant event for all ages.
She said: “Highland 2007 started off with a fantastic street party and we’re really pleased Inverness has chosen to mark the end of Highland 2007 in such a stunning fashion. “We’re delighted Highland Lights will be the grand finale to the first ever Inverness Winter Festival and hope the success of this year’s event will see Inverness firmly established in the national calendar for such events.”