Packed programme for 2011 Lairg Gala
LAIRG’S popular Gala Week is due to take place on Saturday, July 9, and as usual has a packed programme of events for all the family, visitors and local residents alike.
The event is being opened on Saturday evening by Keith Legg from the local Oasis grocery store who will crown this year’s Queen, Leanne Renwick from Lochside. She will be flanked by two attendants from nursery school, Emily and Michael Ramage.
This will take place in the school playground and will be preceded by the fancy dress and float parade.
Other entertainment will be provided by Jan Trumble’s cheerleaders, the Sutherland Schools Pipe Band and the Sutherland Caledonian Pipe Band.
To round off the evening there will be a dance in the community centre to local band, Rockdhu, led by Ian Paterson.
All licensed events will operate on a no under 16s policy and 16 to 17-year-olds having to be accompanied by a responsible adult. ID will be asked for in doubtful cases and licensed doorkeepers will be on duty. Earlier on the opening day there will be open bowls and five-a-side football.
All week there will be a flower show at Lairg Parish Church and on Sunday afternoon the previously open air service run by the Gala committee will be held in the church to prevent uncertainty over the weather.
The collection will be for the palliative care unit at the Lawson Memorial Hospital and Marie Curie Cancer Care. The usual car treasure hunt will take place in the evening.
On Monday there will be games and children's sports or a kids' disco if the weather turns wet and a new family fun night will be held in the community centre in the evening. For those who prefer whist, that will be on as well at the same venue.
On Tuesday the colourful and energetic Standfast Dancers will be doing a Highland choreography workshop which will be repeated on Wednesday and Friday morning, and on the final Saturday there will be a demonstration at 5.30pm.
Other Tuesday events will be story telling at the library, a car boot sale, junior pool and a clay pigeon shoot in addition to the mouth-watering soup and sweet served at lunchtime in the community centre and a quiz in the evening, with proceeds going to the Highland Heartbeat Centre.
On Wednesday morning the pet parade will once again be to the fore, with a disco in the afternoon, and in the evening angling enthusiasts can try their luck at an open competition on Loch Shin. Alternatively there will be bingo in the community centre with prizes totalling £300. It’s the children’s turn for fishing on Thursday morning, in the lower loch, and there’s the chance to make something later on during a craft session. Last year’s popular strawberry cream teas are repeated in the afternoon and there are outdoor activities for the youngsters in the primary school playing field.
On Friday there is a kids’ teddy bears’ picnic outing to the beach, with seats having to be booked on the bus beforehand, allocated on a first-come basis. This leaves at 12 noon from the school playground. In the evening the Monach Isle Ceilidh Band from Inverness, an up-and-coming young Celtic band with great energy and fire, will be playing in the centre.
On the final Saturday it’s badminton first, followed by the famous duck race from the Black Bridge and continuing with a fun afternoon at Ferrycroft with the Knockout competitions resurrected and other amusements.
After the grand prize giving, the pipe bands that opened the week will parade down the Main Street and there will be a family ceilidh to finish with assorted entertainers, dancing to the Caithness Scorries from Wick, and tea at half-time. See programme, posters and billboards for more details, times, venues and many extra activities.
