There's more to HippFest than silent movies...

Thanks to three local firms, people will not only be enjoying silent movies but a wee flavour of the area’s unique businesses.

Launched in 2011, this year’s HippFest will run from Wednesday, March 20, to Sunday, March 24, with a packed programme. However, those looking for a unique keepsake will also be well served.

Bo’ness mum Claire Graham will be back with rails of fashion from her online store Hope Town Vintage.

Having worked as a window dress designer for 18 years, Claire moved to Bo’ness in January 2020 to be closer to family in South Queensferry. She and her husband had visited the town on a regular basis and decided it was the perfect place to bring up their son.

Ted arrived in May 2020 and, a few months later, Claire launched her own store on Etsy, Hope Town Thrift, selling vintage clothes. She later set up in the Bo’ness Collective but, with Ted still a handful, she launched her own online business instead.

Hope Town Vintage has been doing a roaring trade ever since with Claire given a helping hand to mend any clothes that need specialist care by local seamstress Christine Simm.

Claire’s fashions went down a storm after the Friday night gala last year and she was delighted to be invited back; she’ll be selling her one-of-a-kind clothes from 9.30pm on March 22, following the Mantrap screening.

Claire (40) said: “The Hippodrome was the first place we visited in Bo’ness so when I was invited to set up stall there, it was lovely to have that connection.

“I sell online and at vintage markets. I also had a studio at the Collective but, with Ted, it was just too much. He’s three now and at nursery; when he gets a bit older I’d love to try it again.

“The online store is doing really well. I love my job – it’s fantastic to be able to rescue vintage clothes and give them a new life. I focus on clothes and accessories from the 1950s to 1980s but it’s wearable vintage that can slot into people’s wardrobes easily. Folk are turning away from fast fashion; they also know the goods they buy from me are one-off so no-one else will be wearing it.”

Claire will also be setting up stall in Bo’ness Town Hall on Sunday, March 24, from 2pm to 6pm, where the masterclass that afternoon, Cooking with Joan Crawford, will be serving up vintage cocktails and canapes.

You can find Claire online at hopetownvintage.co.uk or, if you’re looking for a specific outfit, email [email protected].

Equally unique in his offering is Gregg McNeill, who runs Darkbox Images from his studio in Larbert but is more often found at events, such as comic-cons and Steampunk festivals.

A photographer and film-maker, focusing on feature films, documentaries and corporate work, the Michigan native moved to Scotland with his wife 15 years ago, initially living on the Isle of Bute before moving to Falkirk eight years ago.

In 2014, Gregg discovered the process of making tin-plate portrait photographs and “fell down a rabbit hole”. That led him to launch Darkbox Images in 2017.

Using an 1880 Tailboard Underwood camera he found in a store in Leeds and an 1870 lens he sourced from a contact in Germany, Gregg uses exactly the same processes used by his Victorian counterparts to create the tin-plate images.

The 53-year-old said: “I love my job now; it’s great to be in a business where people are happy to see you!

“It’s a unique process and I talk people through it as I’m doing it, so they see the image being developed right in front of them. By the end of it, they have a unique photograph to treasure and a story to tell.”

Gregg will be taking portrait pictures at Bo’ness Library on Friday, March 22, from 10.20am to 4.40pm and Saturday, March 23, from 10.20am to 12.40pm. He’ll also be at Bo’ness Town Hall from 2pm to 6pm on Sunday, March 24.

To book, visit www.hippodromecinema.co.uk/whats-on/darkbox-images.

HippFest performers will also enjoy a special brew this year, thanks to Not that California Brewing Company.

Run by Ondrej Rafaj and his brother-in-law Vojtech, both phone engineers from the Czech Republic, they founded the firm on Ondrej’s farm just outside California in January 2023.

They are now looking at an automated canning line, to create 700 to 800 cans an hour instead of their current 150, and are in talks with local bars and shops to deliver their two online bestsellers – Black Gold of California and Ya Filthy B**tard.

On Wednesday, Ondrej and Vojtech were in Liverpool where they were up against three other firms for the Society of Independent Brewers best new craft brewery in the UK award.

Ondrej (42) said: “We didn’t win and didn’t expect to – we were up against some pretty stiff competition – but we were delighted to be shortlisted.”

Performers at HippFest will be able to try the products as the firm has gifted two kegs and cans.

Ondrej added: “We support good causes and events when we can; we're delighted to support HippFest.”

To find out more about the firm’s products, visit notthatcalifornia.com.

And for the full HippFest events programme, visit www.hippodromecinema.co.uk/silent-film-festival.