After a couple of days of hilarious comedy at the Coachman Hotel,
six major festival events took place in Colzium Estate from
13th-15th August, transforming the site into a leafy playground with a striking 1200 capacity
Big Top in place to provide
safe haven from the shining sun. We were so lucky
with the weather
- sunny skies and not a drop of rain. Almost all the programme ran on schedule, late
call-offs were minimal and overall audience figures well up on
previous years. With
top quality dance, comedy, music, and circus entertainment on offer
across our two stages and much of the park itself, the Big Top and the outdoor Colzium
amphitheatre, a great choice of food and ice cream, a large craft
fair, a licensed bar and Stirling's funfair running all three days,
there was lots to do for everyone.
Sunday 15th August
The final day of the
BIG KIC festival on 15th August was the popular
Kilsyth International Carnival
providing the perfect end-of-summer celebration on the eve
of the return to school. Spanning the beautiful bandstand outdoor
stage and the massive Big Top, Carnival was a multi-cultural celebration of music, dance and performance with funfair rides,
Samba and Pipe bands,
rap
and rock, food and drink combining to offer the perfect family fun day out. Legendary Scottish singer-songwriter
Dougie MacLean
performed a superb set with a maximum capacity crowd.
Festival legends Macumba closed the main stage on the 15th August
with an amazing triple bill - ably supported on the stage by both
Beat That! Samba band and the Eletricat dance team.
Many thanks from the big and little kids at the BIG KIC to all our
supporters, contractors, fans artists and sponsors, including North
Lanarkshire Council and LEADER without whom this could never have
happened, Arts and Business Scotland and Youth Scotland for
their generous financial support. The
Kilsyth Chronicle and
Cumbernauld News
provided major publicity help including a free programme insert and
several articles leading up to the event. Thanks also to
Tunnocks
for the 1000 delicious Tea Cakes and Barr's soft drinks for the many dozens of cases of refreshing
Strathmore spring water,
both of which were liberally distributed to all the volunteers,
performers, and the public. Also to
Contraflow Ltd
for their fabulous support keeping the roads clear and to
W.F.Watt Landscapes ,
Signature Communications
and Stirling Fire Protection
for their generosity.
The grounds crew and estates management
from North Lanarkshire Council were simply first class, as they have
been since we started this adventure in 2003. Thanks John, Archie, Billy
and the guys! .
August 15th 2010
