18th September 2008

Homecoming on the Doorstep in Dumfries & Galloway opens with Burns Light

Dumfries & Galloway is already planning an exciting programme of events for Scotland’s year of Homecoming in 2009.  From January to November 2009 these events will be presented to Scots everywhere as Homecoming on the Doorstep, which Dumfries & Galloway Arts Association and regional partners and agencies Dumfries & Galloway Council and Visit Scotland, are developing into a programme inspired by the lives, work and achievements of the sons and daughters of Dumfries & Galloway, of whom undoubtedly the most well known is Robert Burns.

Scots and all who love Scotland will be invited to join us in 2009 when Scotland will host its first ever Homecoming year, created and timed to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns.   

Dumfries will be centre stage for the opening weekend of Homecoming 2009.  On the 25th January the programme for Homecoming on the Doorstep will be launched by Burns Light, a spectacular lantern procession inspired by the works of Robert Burns. The processions will wind through the heart of Dumfries, past the MidSteeple, Robert Burns house, medieval Devorgilla Bridge, and St Michael’s Church where he is buried, with all processions meeting at The Whitesands for a spectacular fire show.  Artists Alex Rigg and Trevor Leat plan to build a huge withy sculpture of Tam o’Shanter, which will be fired on the night.

Burns Light will be launched in October 2008 with local people joining in a programme of lantern making workshops and events specially geared for families.  Burns Light is getting ready to show the world that the birthday of a poet can bring thousands of people onto the streets of Dumfries!

Visitors to the region will find themselves welcomed to a vibrant midwinter festival weekend, a once in a lifetime event with real atmosphere in a historic setting.
 
As Homecoming on the Doorstep gets under way, Dumfries & Galloway will be full of varied events, with the emphasis on the uncommon and the imaginative.   From a special Homecoming Spring Fling, which will open artists’ studios across the region, to the Original Festival of the Bicycle, from a themed Film Festival to a Burns Literary Series, Dumfries & Galloway will be alive with inspiration and creativity.

Homecoming on the Doorstep is for discerning, independent visitors who are looking for an authentic sense of the local, and will enjoy their welcome into Scottish community life.

If you would like more information about Homecoming on the Doorstep please contact Dumfries & Galloway Arts Association on 01387 253383, or email jean@dgaa.net.

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