Town to be illuminated for St Andrew’s Day celebration

St Andrews is counting down to party for Christmas and Scotland’s patron saint.

The town will switch on its Christmas lights and new winter lights on Friday, before it becomes a focus for St Andrew’s Day celebrations.

A £60,000 installation will see Bell Street and Church Street illuminated by ceilings of light and trees on South Street lit up throughout winter.

Also to be unveiled will be a surprise special feature on Market Street.

The lights will be turned on outside Holy Trinity Church in South Street at 6.15pm.

Immediately afterwards the City of St Andrews Pipe Band will perform the annual Beating of the Retreat ceremony.

On Saturday the St Andrew’s Day festival will bring crowds for a street ceilidh, lantern procession and fireworks display.

Youngsters will prepare for the procession by making lanterns at workshops in St Andrews Town Hall at 9am, 11.15am and 1.30pm.

These will be followed in the same venue by circus skill workshops by PyroCeltica.

Meanwhile, a Christmas fair and market will be held by St Andrews University on Madras College lawn.

The street ceilidh will run from 6pm to 7pm at the West Port end of South Street, where the procession will set off from immediately afterwards.

On arrival at the harbour there will be a 15-minute theatrical re-enactment of the fable of Regulus bringing St Andrew’s bones to the shore, before the fireworks finale.

Business improvement district BID St Andrews is hosting the St Andrew’s Day celebration, which is supported by the Scottish Government through EventScotland.