new chairman and committee appointed

By Ryan Crighton

The short-term future of Peterhead’s historic summer gala has been secured following the appointment of a new chairman and committee.

Peterhead Scottish Week is the only event of its kind left in the country. Similar celebrations were common across Scotland in the 1960s and were used by towns and villages to bring in tourists and promote local produce.

The future of Scottish Week had been thrown into doubt after the resignation of chairman Tom Marshall.

He said he was fed up with “constant red tape” and barriers being put in the way of the organisers by Aberdeenshire Council.

Mr Marshall said requests to bring new people on to the organising committee had fallen on deaf ears.

Following the announcement that this year’s event was to be the last, more than 100 turned out at an emergency meeting in August to save the event.

The 2009 Scottish Week will go ahead thanks to its 20-strong new committee, but attendance at a meeting held on Monday night dropped to 35.

Its new chairman, local butcher Graham Baron, said the gala needs everyone who was interested in saving it to come back and help set up next year’s event.

“The event will definitely go ahead next year and there will be some new additions to the programme,” he said.

“We need those people who weren’t there on Monday night to come back and help us pull the 2009 event together.

“It’s vital that people come along and give support regularly, not just when we have got our backs to the wall.”

This year’s fireworks display had to be rescheduled after thick fog overshadowed the event’s finale, and Mr Baron revealed the fireworks will now be set off on November 29, the day before St Andrew’s Day.

He pleaded with those who attend to donate anything they can at the event to make sure it can go ahead again next year.

The next public meeting to discuss the 2009 event will be held on Monday, November 24, at the Waterside Inn.