Thurso Food and Craft Fair (TFCF) proved to be a successful addition to the the town's special Christmas Fun Day on Saturday and attracted many visitors.

Young and old came along to the Royal British Legion's Thurso branch, where the event was held, to purchase presents, try tasty bites from the many stands and visit Santa's grotto.

Yvonne Rathbone, Penny Irvine and Kara Fraser are the three names behind the TFCF and have been hard at work over the last few months to raise money for good causes.

TFCF charity coordinator Kara Fraser said: "One area that is important to all three of us as members is to give back to the local community – raising money and awareness is a way in which we can do this through the running of our markets."

The three women ran four markets, from September to December this year, resulting in over £600 raised for charitable causes. This money was gifted to Home-Start Caithness (for its Little Moments campaign); Thurso Community Café; and North Highland Women’s Wellness Hub.

Kara continued: "Every month one community group has the opportunity to provide refreshments to vendors and visitors to the market. This has allowed these groups to raise important funds and give visibility to the group and the work that they are doing in the local community. This year we have hosted, Girlguiding Thurso, Home-Start Caithness, Thurso Community Café and RDA Caithness.

"A new way in which we have been able to cast a spotlight on other important organisations and community groups is through the utilisation of our 'Community Spotlight'.

"We provide a space, free of charge, for community groups to come and share information; provide signposting to other resources available; raise money; and have general consultations with the public. The groups this year have been – Alzheimer Scotland (Thurso branch); NHS Highland Caithness Re-design; and North Highland Women’s Wellness Hub."

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For its special Christmas Fair on Saturday, the TFCF enlisted the help of Thurso Youth Club to put on some family friendly fun – including a visit from Santa – allowing the club to raise its own funds.

The TFCF will put out information for organisations to get in touch if they wish to have a space in its 'Community Spotlight' when it starts up again in 2024.

More info on TFCF can be found at: www.facebook.com/thursofoodandcraftfair

Struan Mackie was one of the vendors at the event, representing his business North Point Distillery, and said: "We are quite a regular attender at the food and craft fairs. We officially launched our single malt whisky brand called Dalclagie a couple of weeks ago, which is absolutely fantastic and the next step in our big journey."

Santa's grotto was bringing joy to the many children who visited the fair and Mrs Claus said: "We were delighted to see such a successful day and worthy charities gain something from it as well as all the other people who came along and enjoyed everything."

Santa sent out a message to the children: "There are 23 more sleeps to be good!"

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