A community group is hoping to relaunch a once-popular north-east event.
Macduff’s annual gala vanished from the schedules shortly after 2000, when organisers began to struggle to attract volunteers, but there has been a resurgence of interest in recent years.
The event, which used to attract hundreds of visitors to the area, was eventually absorbed into the RNLI’s programme of events which it runs over the summer.
But now, Macduff resident, Bob Watson, has outlined his vision of bringing the fun back to the port and has called on local people to get involved.
Last night, Mr Watson, who has already created a social media presence calling on the event’s return, confirmed that next summer was the earliest it could happen.
He added: “At this stage, I will be looking at all the feedback from the Facebook page and, along with a few others, looking at how we can take this forward or enhance existing events.
“I intend to give myself plenty of planning time, so I would be looking at something for 2017.”
He admitted the proposals were at the “very earliest stage”. But his group has already attracted interest from more than 200 people.
Yesterday, local councillor Hamish Partridge hailed Mr Watson’s initiative.
He said: “I am absolutely supportive of the idea – it’s a fantastic way of attracting visitors and locals alike and would be a very positive way of regenerating the town.
“I would encourage people to get behind it.”
Summer galas feature prominently in local calendars across the north-east. Fraserburgh’s own gala was revived in 2011 following a 20-year hiatus when a local committee, headed by chairwoman Marie Wallace, drove forward a programme of events.
Similar to the situation in Macduff, a shortage of volunteers had resulted in its original demise.