St Andrews Harbour Gala: stalls, music, dancing, food, drink – and Apalas

The gala promises a fun day out for all the family, with stalls, entertainment, food and licensed bar and free entry. After Storm Babet and its associated big tidal swells caused significant damage to both lock gates and blocked the main channel of the harbour with seaweed and beach material we have been busy trying to obtain support and fundraising ourselves to help towards the repairs and restoration of the main pier. Further easterly storms with big tides caused serious erosion and damage to the top walls and walkways of the main pier and took away the NW Slipway and has eroded the cliff above.

The annual harbour gala will be held from 11am to 5pm at the harbour. If you would like to make a donation in advance, please follow the link: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/standrewsharbourrestoration

A spokesperson said: "We are hoping for glorious weather and a huge turnout! Last year the gala day was such a brilliant day, the lovely weather had a big part to play. Each year the number of people attending have increased making it an enjoyable atmosphere for everyone.

"There will be the usual inflatable castles and slides, face painting and various stalls including raffle, books, toys, bric-a-brac and a bottle stall. There will also be a variety of individual stalls selling handmade crafts, paintings, prints, books, cosmetics and much more. We have local charity stalls coming along selling their wares and raising funds for their own charities."

Throughout the day there will be dancing displays from Dance St Andrews. St Andrews Army Cadet Force will display their marching skills. Billy Anderson will play some well-known tunes on his accordion and we hope the public will take part in the community dancing.

"We plan to have a few fun dance competitions for adults and children with prizes to be won! Local female vocalist and well-loved Kristina will be singing some popular songs and you are welcome to join in too," said the spokesperson.

They continued: "We are delighted once again to have some of the alpacas from Bowbridge Alpacas, they are all very friendly and everyone will thoroughly enjoy getting to know them. We are extremely grateful to the many local businesses who donate prizes to the raffle, which will be drawn at the end of the gala day. The raffle tickets will be available to purchase on the day if you haven’t already bought yours, unless we sell out in advance! A huge thank you to all the local individuals and business who have been selling the hundreds of raffle tickets in beforehand.

"We are hoping to have a visit from the local emergency services to demonstrate fire appliances, discuss police procedures and explain the work of the local coastguard. Once again, we are delighted to have a visit from the City of St Andrews Pipe Band who will march through the gala playing all the favourite tunes. With the view of the sea on one side and the square tower and skyline of the town on the other side and the beautiful weather conditions we hope to have, it will just be a perfect day for all!

"We have Greenfield Event Catering selling fast food and St Andrews Brewing Company will be in attendance with their licensed bar to keep you refreshed throughout the day. The hard-working volunteers for the Harbour Gala will be selling strawberry tarts, scones, home baking, tea, coffee and juice from within the marquee. Ice cream on sale has been donated by Jannettas. We are extremely grateful to the local businesses who donate many of the above listed provisions. Every penny raised goes straight to the upkeep of the beautiful harbour and surrounding area."

At the close of the gala on the Saturday evening, everything is dismantled and returned to its owners, so if you are available to stay on for a couple of hours to help, the committee would be extremely grateful. Please contact Marion on 07580 137 116 or or message the Facebook page: St Andrews Harbour if you have any questions.