Calls to clear eyesore boats before showcase Dumbarton festival

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Plans for a festival celebrating Dumbarton have been postponed by a further year – with organisers calling for the River Leven to be cleared up before any showcase takes place.Originally due to take place in June 2020, the festival was set to celebrate the town’s rich history with a packed schedule of events based around local landmarks including the town’s iconic Rock and Castle.Boat races, live music and a parade linked to the national celebrations of the Year of Coasts and Waters were all set to take place.The event was also set to coincide with the ever popular Rock of Ages celebrations, which will take place in June this year,There were even hopes that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Earl and Countess of Dumbarton, could make their first visit to the town for the event.However, those plans were put on ice as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the festival now on hold until the summer of 2023.Paul Neeson, chair of the event organisers, explained that the decision was made to avoid the celebrations clashing with any plans to mark 800 years of Dumbarton as a Royal Burgh this year.He told the Lennox: “The idea for the festival started back in 2015 and we’d gained quite a bit of momentum.

We had a whole plan when Covid struck.“The plan was to run the festival so it didn’t coincide with some of the plans to celebrate the anniversary of Dumbarton getting Royal Burgh status.“There is no official festival planned for this year, it will be next year.

We hope that it will concentrate on the town and the surroundings, and doesn’t have the Royal aspect hanging over it.“We want the focus to be fully on Dumbarton.“It’s been a nightmare year really.