Youth to take centre stage at winter festival

Oban Winter Festival committee has put the call out for more young businessmen and women from across the West Highlands and islands to take part in the festival’s St Andrew’s Day fair this year.

Anyone up to the age of 30, can take advantage of free stalls at the Young Entrepreneurs Market on Saturday December 1 at Oban Distillery’s Old Milling Room as part of the Year of Young People.

‘It is an ideal way for young adults to showcase products, services and talents,’ said a member of the winter festival committee.

And for the even younger, this year the festival invites children to make a ‘Big Racket’ with a workshop with Highland Glass where they can create shakers to make a great big noise at the festival.

This is sponsored by the festival and will be on November 24 at the Corran Halls.

For more details email info@ obanwinterfestival.com.

Oban traders are already hard at work on their shop window displays for the festival: the theme this year is ‘shimmer and shine’.

‘Everyone appreciates the the effort put into making the town look so festive over the Christmas period,’ said a committee member.

Shopkeepers are also reminded in the run up to the festival to tell the committee what their plans are for late night shopping on Thursday November 22 so this can be included in the festival programme. This year the festival runs from Friday November 16 to Sunday November 25.

The Oban Winter Festival is a volunteer-run event.

And don’t forget: entry forms for the food competitions – shortbread, clootie dumpling and bramble jam – can be downloaded from the festival website or collected from the West Coast Motors office in the centre of Oban.