Christmas market to be staged in EK Village

Nov 25 2009 by Graham Mann, East Kilbride News

THE Festive season will be in full swing next week when the Village hosts its first Christmas Market.

Almost 40 specialists, selling everything from farmhouse cheese and hand-made gourmet crisps to pewterwork and Polish pottery, will arrive in the town on Saturday, December 5.

They are coming from as far away as Northumberland and Caithness to take part in this inaugural market, part of South Lanarkshire Council’s Christmas Lights event.

The market, which will operate from 9am until 5pm, is being organised by a small team of volunteers from Scotland’s Festival of History, the Lanark re-enactment fair, which is held each August and is now one of the largest in the UK.

They have already built their own November Festive market into the largest one-day Christmas Market in Scotland and this year agreed to support the council’s festive lights events by organising two new markets, in Hamilton and in the Village.

The market features crafts, specialist gifts, food and drink, and is aimed at supporting the Village by encouraging locals to stay and shop there, rather than travel out of the area for their festive shopping.

It is also hoped the East Kilbride market will attract people who might not normally visit the Village.

Although stall holders are coming from places such as Caithness, Dundee, Ayrshire, Edinburgh, Carlisle, Hexham and Newcastle, there are quite a few from Lanarkshire, including some from the East Kilbride area.

Chair of South Lanarkshire Council's Enterprise Resources Committee, Councillor Chris Thompson, said: "I hope as many people as possible will come along and support what is always a fantastic event for all the family to enjoy.

"The Christmas market helps add to the atmosphere of the event and the whole day has a real feel-good nature.

"I would like to thank all the local organisations who work alongside us to make sure this day is such a success."

The programme for the day, which is subject to change, is:

3pm to 3.05pm – Big Intro – music, throwaway prizes, etc; 3.05pm to 3.15pm – Children's games – The Christmas Fairy; 3.15pm to 3.20pm – Introduction of giant characters – festive song and dance routines; 3.20pm to 3.35pm – ‘Defrost Dance Off’ plus giveaways; 3.35pm to 3.50pm – Real Radio's Paul Harper with the ‘£100 Cash Challenge’ – prizes and music; 3.50pm to 4pm – The Wild Winter Warmer – Festive Fire Act; 4pm to 4.45pm – High School Holiday – live music set; 4.45pm to 5pm – Real Radio's Paul Harper introduces local dignitaries, Santa and other guests on stage for the big Christmas Count-down. A music sing-a-long with all cast back on/in front of stage for finale and photographs; 5pm – Lights Switch-on; 5.15pm – Warm down – festive tunes as crowds disperse.

The market organisers are also hoping they might be able to add some extra stalls, in which case there may be opportunities for local specialist craft producers to showcase their wares.

Anyone interested should e-mail lanarkmarkets@hotmail.com