Balmedie Village Gala
2011 Balmedie Gala Report
Successful and Fun Gala
Despite the weather letting us down again this year we still had a very successful and fun day at the Gala in Balmedie Primary School. Unfortunately due to a back injury I (Wishart McBride) was unable to attend but all the comments are that it was a good fun day and was attended by as many if not more than the previous year.
Opening Ceremony
The Gala started off with a procession from the Leisure Centre led by 2 pipers from Grampian Police. Our local minister, Paul McKeown performed the opening ceremony and presented the awards for the 5-a-side competition, the poster and fancy dress competitions.
Stalls and Entertainment
There were over 50 stalls selling a variety of items to suit everyone as well as competitions of various types. The children were well entertained by the ever popular Balloon Man who performed his magic with balloons. Mr Bug was also a great success with his selection of ‘Creepy-Crawlies’ and the Puppet Show was played to a full audience of kids in the gymnasium.
Poor Weather Closes Bouncy Castle
We had a number of outside events on offer but unfortunately the weather caused us to have to close the Bouncy Castle for safety reasons and our Village Stocks did not need any more water added to the day so it too had to be abandoned.
Barbeque and Bar
This year we went to the added expense of erecting a marquee in the grounds of the school and used this for our Barbeque and Bar Area. Both of these proved very popular and our thanks go to the Whitehorse Inn for staffing the bar and to the Co-op for the endless supply of hamburgers etc. (next year we need to get a bigger Barby).
Raffles
Our thanks go to everyone who bought raffle tickets and this year we had a very large selection of prizes which had been kindly donated by local businesses and they all deserve a special thanks for their generosity.
Funds for Local Causes
We have not done our sums yet as money is still arriving from certain areas and once this is completed we will be able to let everyone know just how generous you all were and will also let you know what we will be donating the money to as this is the sole purpose of the Gala – to raise funds for local causes.
If you run a club or know of any needy causes who could benefit from a donation from the gala funds then contact us at the e-mail address below and we will certainly give it consideration.
E-mail address: wishart@wishart21.orangehome.co.uk
2010 Gala
Last year saw the formation of a new Committee, who were delighted to announce Balmedie Primary School as the event venue. Over 50 stall holders, including a unit from Grampian Fire Brigade contributed towards a very successful occasion.
The Gala Committee were delighted with the overall success. The revenue from the stalls, the raffle and other related items produced a profit of over £2000. A large percentage of this will be donated to local causes.
All the usual types of stalls were present including face painting, 99p stall, bingo, book stall and many, many more plus a barbeque and bar out in the grounds of the school. There were also demonstrations of country dancing and keep fit in the gymnasium.
The week prior to the Gala saw a 5-a-side football tournament taking place at the new outdoor all-weather pitches at the Leisure Centre, with a trophy being presented to the winning team. This will be an annual feature of the Gala.
The actual Gala was started with a procession from the Leisure Centre to the school. Unfortunately the procession was in silence as the group who were to provide the music were late in arriving. However, this coming year the Gala Committee plan to have music which will please everyone.