The first Dumfries Market Festival of the year will be held online on Saturday with a mix of virtual stalls to buy from and local performers to watch.
The Guild (Dumfries) CIC said that with the lockdown they felt it is “still not quite the right time to bring people together” in the town centre in big numbers.
Leah Halliday, a director of The Guild, told the Standard they have had to adapt and diversify to help their community of makers, artists and producers to continue reaching their customers, while safeguarding the health and wellbeing of the public.
She said: “As one of the main purposes of the Market Festival is to bring our community together and celebrate what our wonderful town has to offer, we feel March is still a little early to do this.
“So from the safety of your own home, tomorrow from 10am to 4pm, you can still experience our festival in a day – but just in a slightly different way.”
Local makers, food and drink producers, artist or indie businesses have set up a market stall in their homes and are set to bring the shopping experience to life with virtual tours and demos.
Leah said: “We have an amazing line up of makers and producers.
“We have a number of brand new makers taking part which we are delighted about.
“There will be lots of new product launches and special offers to look out for too.
“We know it won’t completely replace our in-person market festival, but we feel it’s a positive alternative.”
Visit www.theguilddumfries.org/pages/dumfries-market-festival-online-march or their Facebook page.
