Waltz down memory lane at Kirkintilloch Canal Festival

Date:

Tuesday, 25 July, 2017

Dancers are being offered the chance to take a waltz down memory lane as part of the 2017 Kirkintilloch Canal Festival.

Ladies and gents will getting 'In the Mood' with 1940s/50s-style tea dances in Club Bliss on Wednesday 16 August (7pm- 9pm) and Saturday 19 August (1pm-3pm).

The vintage shindigs - which cost £2 and don't need to be booked in advance - are part of the latest additions to the 2017 Canal Festival line-up.

Also added to the bill are family-friendly drag act Michael Darling and Captain Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones lookalikes - on Gala Sunday.

Kirkintilloch Canal Festival runs from Monday 14 August to Sunday 20 August - reaching a crescendo with Saturday night’s firework display and Sunday’s fun-packed gala.

A range of local performers, shops, hostelries and groups will be involved and thousands of people are once again expected to attend.

Highlights include:

Boat trips and Story Week - Monday 14-Friday 18 August - including storytelling trips for children and excursions for adults - such as Bubbles & Breakfast, whisky tasting with Spirit of Alba and Ghiloni's Friday night Fish Tea - as well as The Big Kirky Quiz, and ceramics, drawing and printing sessions for adults
Get Active Saturday (19 August) - featuring live music from Big City, Shardlake, and Emma and the Ragmen, fireworks, Marina Food Court, Zoolab – learning through animals, roller disco at Lairdsland Primary, sports, stone-carving sessions (with Trails and Tales) and stalls, a caricaturist, silk painting and mini golf at the College Campus.
Gala Sunday (20 August) - featuring classic cars, market stalls, meet the pirates, Jump 'n' Jive, children's art activities, Bubbleologist, stilt walkers, roller disco, funfair, walk on water, Popcorn for the Movies, cookie cutting and 3D printing, family workshop and shadow puppet show, Kennedy Cupcakes, model plane flying, Dunbartonshire Concert Band, Kirkintilloch Male Voice Choir, Coppers on the Canal and more. Kirkintilloch Baptist Church will be offering family fun including an obstacle course, Zorb ball and Nerf adventures, while there will be stalls, a caricaturist, silk painting and mini golf at the College Campus.

The festival is organised annually by East Dunbartonshire Council in conjunction with a range of partners.

Councillor Gillian Renwick, Depute Leader of East Dunbartonshire Council, said, "The festival line-up is growing all the time, with a feast of fun for people of all ages.

"The tea dances are an inspired addition - complementing the Elvis exhibition at the Auld Kirk Museum, which has a range of nostalgic fun on offer to get people 'All Shook Up' during the Festival weekend.

"They also dovetail nicely with displays from the Jump 'n' Jive and Kennedy Cupcakes dancers.

"The festival team have been working closely with local partners, traders, performers and groups to ensure a packed programme again this year.

"From fireworks and live music to boat trips and bubble fun, there's a huge range for all the family to do and see."

For more information, visit the website.

Kirkintilloch Canal Festival is organised by the Council and partners such as East Dunbartonshire Leisure and Culture (EDLC) Trust, Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue, Kirkintilloch Baptist Church, the Regent Centre, New College Lanarkshire - Kirkintilloch, Seagull Trust, Scottish Canals, the Forth and Clyde Canal Society and Kirkintilloch & District Classic Vehicle Club.
Venues include the town centre, Southbank Marina, New College Lanarkshire – Kirkintilloch Campus, Lairdsland Primary, Auld Kirk Museum, Sainsbury's grassed area (with Kirkintilloch Baptist Church) and more.