Rising costs mean Wick Hogmanay street party is off
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Wick's New Year street party has been cancelled after the organisers were faced with rising costs that would have exceeded their budget.
Hogmanay and People's Party Yearly (HAPPY), which is part of the Royal Burgh of Wick Community Council, will "regroup" and look at bringing the event back for December 2024.
The decision to cancel will come as a blow to those who see the street party celebrations in Wick town centre as a focal point of the festive season.
Twelve months ago some 600 revellers gathered to mark the start of 2023 as the event returned for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
Allan Farquhar, the event organiser and community council chairman, explained: “We couldn't get a band, that was the first thing. Then, once we got the prices in, the cost for insurance for the event had gone up substantially.
"And with music licences as well that we need to have in place, it was just too expensive compared with what we had for our budget.
“We'll just have to regroup and have another think about it next year.
“It's disappointing but we've got to consider the costs. We can't be running things at a loss, that's for sure.”
Mr Farquhar emphasised that HAPPY would welcome more volunteers to act as stewards for next year.
“We'd really appreciate any volunteers coming forward, especially if they've got first-aid skills that we need to have in place," he said.
Anyone willing to help can get in touch with the community council secretary or through its Facebook page.
“We'll be looking at additional funding for next year and we'll take it from there,” Mr Farquhar added.
He pointed out that there have been very few cancellations since the millennium street party.
“Our record has not been too bad, really," he said. "Since we started in 2000 there have only been three cancellations.”
Last year's street party featured local group Reviver playing on the back of a truck provided by haulage firm D Steven & Son. Provost Jan McEwan addressed the crowd in the run-up to midnight and there were pipe tunes from Morven and Glenn Miller.
Rona Morrison, a co-opted member of the community council, was volunteering at the event for the first time.
"I think everybody really seemed to enjoy themselves," she said later. "It was an excellent night and we couldn't have hoped for better weather."
