Meeting of the Parliament 06 January 2015
I, too, wish you, Presiding Officer, and other members a happy new year.
It seems to be particularly appropriate that we are celebrating Scotland’s winter festivals right at the beginning of 2015, which is, of course, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s international year of light. UNESCO, which is the cultural arm of the United Nations, will in 2015 stage events around the globe to highlight the central role that light plays in human activities.
Of course, there is nothing new under the sun—even the thin winter sun. Light was accorded just as much importance by our ancestors, who celebrated the winter solstice to brighten the cold months when daylight was scarce. Our Scottish winter festivals have their origins in that time. The UNESCO blog on the subject this week points out that, on a fundamental level through photosynthesis, light is necessary to the existence of life itself and has revolutionised society through medicine, communications, entertainment and culture. For that reason, this year’s Nobel prize will have light as its theme.
However, it is not just Nobel laureates who will contribute to UNESCO’s global celebrations. In Dumfries this coming Burns night, as part of the big Burns supper winter festival, 2,000 children will celebrate the year of light with a spectacular carnival. Each of them will carry a glittering lantern, and the parade will trace a journey to the centre of the earth through the centre of Dumfries. It does not seem like a year since I led a members’ business debate celebrating the big Burns supper, which has become the premier Burns event in the winter festivals calendar. Despite being launched only in 2012, the big Burns supper has gone from strength to strength. I am particularly glad to hear that it has been awarded a £30,000 grant this year from EventScotland. This year’s festival has been extended to nine days, and includes everything from Nina Nesbitt, to the Undertones, to the contrasting Burns tea dance and the Burns supper burlesque show, “Le Haggis”. There is a very special treat after the Burns night parade, when Regular Music and the National Theatre of Scotland collaborate on “Janis Joplin: Full Tilt”, which has been described by one reviewer as “brilliant and intense”.
There are also dozens of events in the emerging talent strand of the festival. There are far too many to list in the time that I have available, but I want to highlight the work of a young woman called Robyn Stapleton, who is a local girl from Stranraer and a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s traditional music course. Robyn, who will be singing as part of the emerging talent programme, has a stunning voice and seems set to become a leading Burns singer for the future generation. She spent her final year at the conservatoire researching and revising the traditional music of her native Mull of Galloway. If anyone has the opportunity to hear her sing, I very much urge them to take it.
This year, the big Burns supper festival has extended its community involvement, which might be of interest to members who have mentioned the importance of the arts at local level. The big Burns supper has launched a festival within a festival in north-west Dumfries, in the Lincluden and Lochside areas, in an outreach programme that is aimed at involving residents of those low-income areas. Eight acts, including the award-winning Skerryvore folk-rock band and Canadian vocal group Countermeasure, will put on free pop-up shows in the area, there will be performances of the very popular “Hamish the Haggis” children’s show, and much more is still to be announced.
When I spoke about the big Burns supper last year, I pointed out that it is really special because Dumfries is a living stage and is the place where Burns lived and worked. People can visit the pubs that he drank in and the house where he lived. Similarly, the people of Dumfries, including north-west Dumfries, have a direct connection to the people and places who inspired the bard. They speak the same language as him and have the same humanitarian values. Therefore, the festival within a festival is an excellent development of one of our most successful winter festivals, so I am delighted to highlight it in the debate.
15:44