Locals have a blast at dazzling displays
C r i e f f ’s Fi r ewo r k s Extravaganza on Tuesday night and Blast in the Park in Comrie on Saturday gave Strath residents the chance to enjoy two organised displays.
On Bonfire Night, food and refreshments from Gourlays and music were on offer in Market Park before the rockets were sent skywards at the display organised by Crieff Round Table
Tabler Gregor Elliot declared: “After a wet weekend we were relieved to have a clear crisp night for the display, which no doubt helped encourage an excellent turnout.
“We welcomed back Bright Sparks professional display team for a second year and they certainly didn’t disappoint, with bold colours and impressive bursts.
“As always we are humbled by the support we get from local people, and we would like to thank Mike Melville from MAM for his help collecting wood and building the bonfire, Crieff Juniors for helping us collect donations at the gates, Crieff Scouts for the ‘Guy’ and Alistair Gourlay for providing the music as well as excellent burgers.
“The fireworks night is a community service event for Crieff Round Table and it is a pleasure to put on an annual event which is so clearly enjoyed and appreciated by our community.”
In the Shaky Village’s Laggan Park, toffee apples and toasted marshmallows were the order of the evening following a lantern parade along Drummond Street led by Comrie Pipe Band.
Guy Fawkes and a fire-breathing dragon kept fireworks’ fans amused in the lead up to the pyrotechnics, which came courtesy of local company Blast Design.
The village’s fireworks display, which was organised by Comrie Primary School Parents and Friends Association, has grown into a major community event over the past few years and it raised £3000 for the school.
Afterwards, Laura Stewart, chair of the PFA, told the Herald: “We’re delighted that so many people came and got involved – we loved the addition of the pipe band, the drama group in the shape of Guy Fawkes and that children from other locals schools came along and embraced the lantern parade.”
This year PFA members were also keen to cut out plastic and had a special sparkler zone set up instead of glow sticks.
Laura continued: “The school has an eco committee, making the children increasingly aware of environmental issues – they have made great efforts to try to cut plastics at school and so to embrace that, we decided to cut plastics from the bonfire night too.
“The sparklers were all collected and recycled by Blast Design and all rubbish collected on the Sunday by our wonderful volunteers will be 100 per cent recycled by Comrie Croft.
“We’d love to continue to make it an annual community event and we’d welcome any feedback from the wider community about what we could do better next year.”
Laura praised everyone involved, adding: “We raised £3000 for the school, most of which was due to the incredible generosity of John Kettles of Blast Design.
“A big thanks also to our community sponsors.”