Arbroath's Festival of Heroes is a celebration of, and tribute to, our Armed Forces and Emergency Services that will take place on Saturday 4th June, 2016.
The Festival has 3 main parts to it:-
*The Armed Forces and Emergency Services Parade
*The Local Hero Awards (Sponsored by Specsavers Opticians and Audiologists in conjunction with Squadron Prints and AJ Beedie Jewellers)
*The Festival of Heroes Gala Day
THE ARMED FORCES AND EMERGENCY SERVICES PARADE
This is an event Arbroath already has and is a wonderful tradition that takes place each year. The parade traditionally takes place from Arbroath Abbey down the High Street and then along to the Victoria Park for a service and remembrance of the fallen.
The parade is a big part of our event and it will be contained fully within the boundaries of Victoria Park this year with the parade happening along the length of King's Drive. This is, in part, designed to look after the welfare of our older soldiers and those who have mobility problems due to age or injuries in action. The parade this year will see a major expansion and will invoke a strong feeling of pride in the people of our town who serve the community or country.
The service will feature a minutes silence.
Picture Credit - Arbroath Herald
Picture Credit - Arbroath Herald
THE LOCAL HERO AWARDS - SPONSORED BY SPECSAVERS OPTICIANS & AUDIOLOGISTS IN CONJUNCTION WITH SQUADRON PRINTS AND AJ BEEDIE JEWELLERS
The first 'new' element of the event. The Local Hero awards will celebrate two groups of people Forces/Services and Civilians. A nomination process will soon launch where you can nominate someone as your 'hero' When you do, they will be recognised as a 'Local Hero' and will be considered for the Local Hero Civilian Award which shall be presented on the day. There will also be a nomination process within the Armed Forces and Emergency Services to identify the man or woman who has gone above and beyond the call of duty and shall be recognised with the Local Hero Forces and Servces Award in recognition of their contribuition to country or community. This will also be presented on the day.
THE FESTIVAL OF HEROES
The Festival of Heroes officially starts with the end of the minutes silence. It is a large open spaced free gala day and the exhibitions and displays are designed to highlight the best of the services and forces doing thier 'day job'. We have displays and demonstrations from the Red Arrows (see below), The British Army with a full 'capability' display, RNLI and the Scottish Fire Service all presently confirmed at this early stage of proceedings with more to confirm as discussions unfold.
The town used to have an amazing event called the Seafront Spectacular and many have called for it's return over the years. The event organisers from Arbroath Events did an amazing job and the event was a credit to the community. Arbroath's Festival of Heroes will fill the community hole left by the end of the Seafront Spectacular!!
Photo Credit - The Courier. Arbroath's Seafront Spectacular event in 2011 which was it's last year.
WHY THE RED ARROWS?
The Red Arrows are arguably the world's foremost display team of combat pilots. The world knows who they are and we all love to see them.
It was 11 years ago now that they previously graced Arbroath with their presence. In those years, reductions in flying time have seen reduced numbers of displays and we took an ambitious punt in applying for them to return to Arbroath to let the next generation of Arbroath's kids see the Reds and those that were too young to remember see them again! Well guess what...
It is with great excitement that we can confirm the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, the world famous Red Arrows, have given us the honour of agreeing to be part of our event. The Red Arrows will only display in Scotland 3 times in 2016 and Arbroath's Festival of Heroes will feature the excitement of the twists, turns and multicoloured vapour trails that make the crowd go "oooooh" but there is a condition...
They don't come cheap and they do need to be paid for!
This is where you come in, the people of Arbroath and Angus and those who want to see the world famous Diamond Nine for free (kind of) as Arbroath's Festival of Heroes will be FREE to come to. We do however need to raise money to pay for the display so although the event is free the organisers hope enough of you will be good enough to donate something to the cause or take one of our perk options to make it all a reality!!
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT
Arbroath has a strong pedigree in showing support for its events and the strength of the Fireworks for Arbroath 2015 campaign really showed what community spirit, some hard graft by a dedicated few and a few pounds donated here and there by lots of people can really add up to something extraordinary.
BRING THE RED ARROWS TO ARBROATH - be part of something extraordinary in 2016!!
THE COMMITTEE
This is an incredibly ambitious plan from a strong committee from within the community of Arbroath with civilians working alongside active and retired forces and emergency services in a truly collaborative effort to bring back a WOW factor event to Arbroath and Angus. So who are we and why should you feel confident in supporting us by donating a few pounds towards bringing the Red Arrows back to Arbroath?
Jamie Buchan - Event Chairman / Director of Retail - Specsavers / Civilian
Colin Galloway - Vice Chairman & Safety Controller / Government Food Hygeine Inspector / Civilian
Allan Hughes - Head Steward / Retired Police Officer
Gill Howie - Air Asset Co-Ordinator / Director of Squadron Prints / Former Manager for Heart of Scotland Airshow / Civilian
WO2 Barry Seal - Retired Royal Marine / Serving Officer in 212 (Highland) Battery - British Army, Arbroath. Part of the Army's East Coast Working Group
WO2 Jon Finn - Military Safety Controller / Serving Officer in 212 (Highland) Battery - British Army, Arbroath.
Scott Ross - Parade Co-Ordinator / Plumber / Civilian / Officer for 2422 Squadron Air Cadets, Arbroath
Cheryl Stewart - Retired Royal Observer Corps / Owner/Operator of the ROC Station, Arbroath.
Mo Broomfield - Treasurer / Guest House Owner/Operator / Civilian
Fiona Laing - Retired Women's Royal Naval Service / Owner of Heather Cottage Crafts / Organiser of the Royal Marines Race for Freedom Rally
Martyn Geddes - Councillor for Angus Council / Owner/Operator of 'Mirnog' Website Design and App Developer / Civilian
Dave McCaig - Retired Royal Marine / 45 Commando Veterans Association
Jon Bruce - Secretary / Owner/Operator of Bruce Financial Management / Civilian
Bob Dickson - Webmaster / Owner/Operator of AngusWeb Website Design and App Developer / Civilian
Photo Credit - Arbroath Herald (Anne Johnston) Kindly used with their permission
So there you have it. Pictured here are some of our team. We have the breadth of skills and connections to the military and emergency services to put this event togather and do it justice. Each of us is experienced in organising events and are worKing hard to deliver an event the town will remember and be proud of!
HERE ARE SOME OF OUR PERK OPTIONS ALTHOUGH YOU CAN JUST MAKE A STRAIGHTFORWARD DONATION WHICH WOULD BE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED
Perk Option - £14 - Red Arrows Key Fob designed by Squadron Prints. Delivered anywhere in the UK.
Perk Option - £17 - "IS MY HERO" Mug (Available in Mummy, Daddy, Mum, Dad, Gran, Granny & Grandad variations). Delivered anywhere in the UK.
Perk Option - £23 - Limited Edition Festival of Heroes Diamond Nine Logo Mug. Delivered anywhere in the UK.
Perk Option - £40 - Squadron Prints Lithograph No. SP193Sig - BAE Systems Hawk TMk1A, XX232, The Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, The Red Arrows Signed by the 2015 Red Arrow Pilots (A £5 donation per print is made to the RAF Benevolent Fund with this item). Delivered anywhere in the UK.
