Winter Festival lights up Camelon

The parade on November 25 was the final part of a packed day at the community-run Camelon’s Winter Festival which had a host of activities for all ages.

Festival secretary Liz McKinley said: “It was an absolutely brilliant day! We had more people this year than ever before and we had more things for them to do!”

This is the third year the festival in Camelon Community Centre has run.

It is organised entirely by volunteers and has, up until now, been funded by the Big Lottery.

Indoors, during the day, fun activities included puppet and magic shows running throughout the day, Santa’s Grotto, a little carousel ride, a bouncy castle and facepainting for younger children.

This year there was a VR experience for over-12s and an appearance by YouTuber Batty who demonstrated how to play the popular video game Fortnite.

There were also craft activities and a free lunch box for every child who attended.

The youngsters also had a chance to make their own lanterns with all the materials needed provided free of charge.

Liz said: “The Winter Festival is fantastic and we do it because there are lots of families who are struggling, particularly at this time of year and it gives them a really good start to the festive season, without costing them anything.

The lottery funding will stop this year, but the committee is determined to keep the festival running through fundraising and sponsorship.

“We are determined to keep it going!” said Liz.

“We’ve put too much into it to give up now!”