Town team take year out from festival

THE COMMITTEE behind Fort William’s Christmas Gathering have said they will not be organising the event in 2018 due to a lack of resources.

But they have promised to host the gathering again in 2019.

At a meeting of the Fort William Town Team last week, the Christmas Gathering committee said they would welcome any other groups who would be interested in picking up the reins for this year, adding they would be willing to help out if needed.

They hope that by alternating which years they host the event, the gathering will be more sustainable in the long run.

Town team chairwoman and Christmas Gathering committee member Moira Robinson said: ‘There’s only three of us on the committee at the moment and it’s a lot of work. Everyone has busy jobs outside of it. I think we need to encourage more people to come on board.

‘It’s been a great event for the town and it will be sad to see it go. If someone was able to do it this year, we will be back for next year.’

The committee said the turning on of the lights will still go ahead regardless of whether the full gathering takes place.

The town team hosted a funfilled evening as part of a twoday festive festival in the centre of Fort William last December.

The evening saw hundreds gather for a lantern parade along the High Street culminating in the Christmas lights switch-on by Santa, and late-night shopping. The group joined forces with the Rotary Club, who organised the second part of the celebrations, the Winter Festival.