We are looking to raise £8,000 to help us restage the event in 2026.
This will help realise part of the budget to keep this community event alive. This is your opportunity to support the much-loved lantern procession that brings together thousands of people in the heart of Winter on Saturday 17th January.
https://youtu.be/SeOlBtNrmtk
The money we are raising will help us
- Engage 2,500 participants in 70 different lantern making sessions that take place in schools, community centres.
- Pay for the 2,500 lantern materials like tissue paper, glue and willow.
- Six community bands who perform in the Parade.
- The outdoor stage and Winter Village.
- Supporting 35 different micro businesses and enterprises who sell trade at the event.
- Pay for the Event Safety Management of the event, to make sure our event is delivered safely,
Times are hard for lots of social enterprises at the moment, and making the case for events that help keep our community connected.
You may be surprised to learn that the event is delivered by an independent charity who take responsibility for managing the event, including public safety.
You would be surprised how much the event costs to run, and in some cases we have to pay Dumfries & Galloway Council part of our grant back to cover statutory costs for the event.
For example, we have to pay for road closures, the use of school halls, event barriers, safety advisors, safety staff, event radios, the cost to make costumes, creative practitioners in schools and in community settings, tissue paper, local community groups, technical staff, promotion of the event, event managers, power and water.
We think the benefits speak for themselves, and we are asking our loyal supporters to play their part and support us to stage the event next year.
A team of 110 local volunteers will use money we have raised to work a colossal 8,000 hours of community volunteering to realise the event.
If you know how magical Dumfries Carnival is, help us pay for the fairy dust that makes it all happen.