Carron and Carronshore Gala Day to return after 18 years

Carron and Carronshore Gala Day retinue members are looking forward to the big day

Residents of the two villages can mark Saturday, June 2 on their calendars for the big event in Gairdoch Park, Carronshore, which organisers hope will be the first of many for generations to come.

The idea to bring back the gala day — last held 18 years ago — was borne out of a sense of frustration among  Facebook users who wanted to see the occasion restored to its former glory.

An online campaign group created to gauge community interest levels amassed more than 200 Facebook likes in less than a day, prompting eager residents to form a gala day committee and a retinue made up of 41 children.

A number of events have now been organised for the event, including a procession, a fun fair and a football tournament.

Sharon McNeill, Carron and Carronshore Gala Day committee secretary, said: “It all started off as a bit of a joke.

“One of the members put a thing on Facebook saying he had taken his daughter to a miners’ day and told her we used to have a gala day.

“He said ‘Surely we could get the gala back’.

“By the Saturday night we had a committee and a  Facebook page with more than 200 likes.

“I think it stopped because of a lack of funding and a lack of interest, it’s happened to a lot of galas.

“We aimed to get it started back last year but the  timeframe was too short.

“There’ll be a procession route with pipe bands, Taekwondo groups and people are taking stalls.

“We’ve got a fun fair and we’ll do things like a football tournament and fancy dress on the Friday night so I would say it’s a two-day event.”

Sharon added: “I think a lot of people aren’t  taking us seriously but once this year’s goes ahead we’re  hoping people will get on board next year when they’ve seen their kids having a good time.

“We will be looking for volunteers on the day and we’re trying to entice local people and businesses to get involved.”

To offer assistance or to find out more information about the event, send an email to [email protected] or search for ‘Carron and  Carronshore Gala Day’ on  Facebook.