Things look ship-shape ahead of North Esk raft race spectacular

Marykirk raft race organisers are gearing up for this month’s event on the River North Esk with high hopes of beating last year’s charity total.

The 2017 event raised £8,500 for local charities and community groups.

The raft race committee has once again organised a full programme of other attractions to go alongside the paddle battle down a mile-and-a-half stretch of the river.

The race starts at noon on Sunday May 20, with events at the Marykirk park running from 1pm to 7pm.

The Critter Keeper will be showing exotic animals and insects including snakes, lizards and spiders, with tickets for the shows available at Nature’s Garden greengrocer in Montrose.

Children’s entertainment, an inflatable pub and live music from local musicians including Concrete Kingdom, Sandy Mathers and Montrose band Georgia Crawl will also keep the crowds entertained.

Teams from Friends of Carronhill, Marykirk Primary School and Mearns Allsorts are among those already signed up.

A committee member added; “The raft race is a great chance to put teamwork into action, and we’re delighted to have three teams from Montrose business networking group BNI Nexus entered.”

Entries are still open and race packs can be collected from the Marykirk Hotel, by emailing raftracemarykirk@gmail.com or via the event’s Facebook page.

Charities and groups including Carronhill School, Mearns Allsorts, Chas and Cash for Kids will benefit from the event.

One of the teams in last year’s Marykirk raft race.