THE Big Burns Supper, the largest community platform in the South of Scotland, is aiming to return with live events next year.
It will be the first time in three years that the festival has staged an “in person” format and features a range of different artists including Scottish rock band Skerryvore, alternative dance band Colonel Mustard And The Djion 5, The Bootleg Beatles and funk and soul maestro, DJ Craig Charles, together with local music talent including Soul Junction, Chasin’ the Train and The Lutras.
Alongside these musical arts, international cabaret artists will join forces with local artists to create Le Haggis, which offers entertainment spread across four different performance spaces at the Loreburn Hall in Dumfries.
Once the shows are over, the venue will become a “playground”, with audiences encouraged “to dress to impress”.
Family editions of Le Haggis will also be on offer, with a community cast of young and old as the festival returns to its original grassroots social ethos.
Following 2022’s well-received online events, Big Burns Supper’s 2023 vision is to invite new and established local and visiting audiences back to in-person events, as well as give a “welcoming, exciting and relaxed” way to explore the area.
Councillor Archie Dryburgh, chair of Dumfries and Galloway Council’s communities committee said: “It is great news that Big Burns Supper and Le Haggis are to return to Dumfries in January.
“The festival programme gives Dumfries’s guid neebors a chance to meet and get unco happy through the dark days of January. There is real excellence and a feel-good factor in the festival line up and I’m sure tickets will sell out quickly.”
Graham Main, executive producer of the Big Burns Supper, said: “With lockdown happening and with the cancellation of so many events last year due to the omicron virus taking hold, we haven’t seen our loyal Le Haggis audience in person since 2020.
“Our new alternative format for 2023 acts as both our recovery edition and as a love letter to them. We can’t wait to welcome them, and to welcome new lovers of all things big, bold and Burns, to these joyous and immersive events in the new year.
“Extending the celebratory spirit of Burns Night, this year’s events across January are packed with creative talent and offer an opportunity to experience a whole host of music, cabaret, theatre and fun as part of the revamped programme.”
