22 pictures of 35th birthday celebrations at Falkirk's Howgate Centre

The Howgate Shopping Centre was marking the special birthday with a day of activities which included craft markets, musicians, singers and dancers.

And it wouldn’t be a birthday party without a cake which special guest, former Falkirk manager Alex Totten was happy to cut.

Youngsters from musical theatre group Project Theatre came along to provide a flash mob and sing Happy Birthday … before joining the queue to get a slice of the cake.

The Ukey Hooky ukulele band proved popular with shoppers in the centre with their own unique brand of entertainment, while the Treubh Dannsa group delighted those who saw them dance.

There were also lots stalls at both the Howgate Craft Market and the Blackheart Market.

Alasdair Irving, centre manager for Gatehouse Property Management said: "We are immensely privileged to be part of the Howgate's 35th birthday celebrations.

"The Howgate has been the beating heart of Falkirk town centre since 1990, thanks to the people of Falkirk, and surrounding areas.”

The Howgate officially opened its doors to visitors on April 14, 1990 and has been continuing to welcome shoppers ever since.

On its opening date, only ten stores were open for business including Marks & Spencer and Woolworths.

The retailers were among some of the large national chains to have a presence in the shopping centre over the years. Others included the likes of HMV, Boots, Superdrug, Clintons, Debenhams, Etam, H Samuel, Internationale, New Look, Wilkos and Dorothy Perkins.

The Howgate was also well known for the InShops, which later became ‘The Market at the Mall’, featuring a maze of small independent retailers with market type stalls. The space was later converted into the Debenhams store.