Festive Fun Day in Thurso brings warmth in the December chill
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Thurso town centre was alive with music, colour and cheer for the annual Christmas Fun Day event on Saturday.
The special day provided a chance for local traders along Rotterdam Street, Traill Street, High Street and adjoining areas to dress up and welcome shoppers with treats and drinks at the door.
Staff at the Semichem store in Thurso were encouraging the community to come into the shop and not only see their array of colourful festive-themed costumes but partake in charity games as well.
Shona Farquhar, store manager at Semichem in Thurso said: "It's been a good day and there have been a lot of people on the go for a change. We've been kept going and very busy.
"Everybody's dressed up and we have a raffle for CHAS – Children's Hospitals Across Scotland. And there are also the lucky squares people can do."
Caithness FM provided the perfect backdrop of Christmas classic sounds for the occasion with a non-stop selection of favourites.
Jackie Johnson, Caithness FM company secretary and director, said: "It's nice to see so many people in the town centre and using the local shops and supporting the traders."
Jackie said that the most popular request of the day was for The Pogues' Christmas classic Fairytale of New York.
She went on to point out the importance of the community radio station's annual toy appeal and was delighted at the local response to that. Caithness FM has arranged a number of collection points in Thurso and Wick, and urges people to dig deep for needy families this year.
Contributions will be accepted until Monday, December 20 at:
Thurso – North Coast Visitor Centre (formerly Caithness Horizons), Royal British Legion, Semichem, Serendipity, Bank of Scotland and the Caithness FM studio.
Wick – Tesco, Little Hope Gift Shop and Bank of Scotland.
Further along Rotterdam Street, the Pentland Brass Band had a live music session with juniors playing Good King Wenceslas and the festive favourite We Wish You a Merry Christmas.
Linda Fraser was sitting along Thurso's High Street with her dogs Ralphie and Rocky who were dressed in festive finery. Linda and her rescue dogs are well-known in the town centre with Ralphie and Rocky often dressed up in colourful costumes.
She said: "They've been dressed up for Halloween as well. The tourists love them and take pictures."
Eye Candy prides itself as a "one-stop shop" when it comes to buying gifts with greetings cards, wrapping paper and an array of other items that are perfect for the festive period.
Laura Freeman, who owns the High Street business, said: "It's been very busy and it's great to see the local community come out and support us." Laura said the shop got into the festive spirit quite early this year with its Christmas tree going up in September.
Along Traill Street, Caithness Furnishers had an array of Christmas decorations set out around the shop and included many examples of this year's must-have item, the Santa-styled gonk.
Roisin Haughey, assistant manager at Riverside Interiors on Riverside Road, said it had been a "brilliant day" for all the staff and the customers visiting the store also seemed delighted with the warm welcome they received which included a festive tipple at the door.
"It was absolutely fantastic and brilliant to see customers coming out again – the town was actually busy for a change," said Roisin. "It was a huge success and a slice of what it used to be [before the pandemic]. The message to people has got to be 'shop local'."
The fun day celebrations made the streets of Thurso come alive once again after the pandemic cancellations that marked last year's festive period. There was even a selection of merry staff from Jamieson's Bakery who were celebrating in the town centre after winning first prize in the Fun Day fancy dress competition.
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