The St Andrew’s Day Parade on Sunday (November 25) marks the start of this year’s packed programme of ‘Discover Christmas’ celebrations in Inverurie.
The parade – with pipe bands from Inverurie, Ellon and Kintore, along with community groups including Girl Guides, Scouts, Beavers, Colony Park FC, Army Cadet Force and the Boys’ Brigade – starts from Drouthy Laird at 3.30pm. They then march via Victoria Road, Westfield Road, Kellands Road, George Square, High Street and finish in Market Place.
Sunday afternoon will be filled with lots of events with ‘The Limit’ and ‘Jinxed’ performing in Market Place. The music will start at 2pm and leads up to the ‘BIG Xmas Lights Switch On’, with Martin Ingram from Original FM flicking the switch at 4.45pm!
With Inverurie awash with Christmas lights, visitors can stroll down Station Road and enjoy the Christmas Market, featuring stalls offering a range of crafts, produce and much more.
The day will end with a spectacular firework display in the town centre.
But the fun is only just starting…
Celebrations continue on Saturday, December 1, with a Christmas ice rink and the BIG Sing.
For the first time ever, Inverurie will host an ice rink in a marquee in the car park behind the Town Hall.
The rink, sponsored by Barratt Homes, will be officially opened at 10.30am with a group of young figure skaters, aged between seven and 14 years old, who regularly compete at a national level wowing the crowds with a beautiful figure skating performance. The public will then have their chance, with the public skating session at 11am.
The ice rink has a capacity of up to 45 people and will be open every day from December 1 to 9. Saturday and Sunday sessions run from 11am to 8pm and Monday to Friday sessions from 3pm to 8pm.
Sessions are 30 minutes and the last skating session is at 7.30pm. Tickets will be available at the ice rink and cost £5 for all ages (including hire of skating boots or penguin skate aid for small children).
With crowds gathered around Market Place and the Town Hall, the BIG Sing will add even more of a buzz and a live vibe to the town centre!
The BIG Sing will be a medley of Christmas songs, performed by 350 local pupils, starting at 11am in front of the Town Hall. The BIG Sing is part of St Andrew’s Fair Saturday, a global event to support charities, and money raised will be donated to St Andrew’s Special School.
This year Santa’s Grotto will be located next to the ice rink marquee on Station Road on Saturday and Sunday, December 1 and 2, between 12noon and 5.30pm, where young children can visit Santa in his grotto and receive a small gift.
And the following Sunday (December 9) sees the annual Santa Run, in conjunction with RunGarioch and sponsored by Drouthy Laird.
The 4k adult run starts (and finishes) in Station Road at 11am and a Santa kids fun run begins at 10am, starting at Laings car park. Entry forms are available at the We Are Inverurie website and completed forms need to be handed into Garioch Sports Centre. Entry costs £10 per adult and £5 per child.
Most of the town’s shops will be open on Sundays from 25 November through December, so don’t forget to support the town and shop locally this Christmas.
There will be a park and ride service from the Thainstone Centre and Gordon House car parks from November 25 to December 23 between 1.30pm and 5.30pm.
This year’s ‘Discover Christmas’ has been bought to Inverurie by the Inverurie Events team and We Are Inverurie.