Whether it was the lilting voice of Nina Nesbit, the eclectic and engaging opening party hosted by the Eden festival or the po-going rock tunes from The Undertones, the beautiful Speigle tent nestled in the heart of Dumfries town centre had something for everyone over the first weekend of this nine day festival.

Nina Nesbit went down a treat. Her soft beautiful voice resonated perfectly around the ambience of the Speigle tent. Quite a following of young girls squealing with delight as she confidently sings about the things young people know.

Speigle then has a quick turnaround for the locally grown risqué cabaret show Le Haggis. Reviews so far are very impressive. It literally is the talk of the town. We check it out for ourselves next weekend.

The opening night party was as fantastic and impressive as a launch party should be. The Eden crew kept the energy high with opening band Tantz getting everyone immediately on their feet. Feasting your eyes on Gypsy Disco’s entertainment of Hula Hoppers, punk pole dancers, acrobatic rag dolls, the longest haired sensual stripper and impressive jugglers. You left the show thinking, wow, if this is the beginning then what else is ahead for the week?

Hamish the Haggis children’s mini burns supper was an absolute hit with the children we took. There were no bums on seats, all of them up and enthralled by the wonderful singing, the hilarious interactive antics of the overly large fluffy haggis. They loved the highly energetic show and they devoured the haggis, neep and tattie pie with beans. When we asked Arlo, who is six, what he thought about the show, the junior reporter said “ The show was great, it had everything a kids show should have except it deserves a Ninja, which I would happily volunteer for!”

The Undertones were loud and the crowd energetic. The hits devotedly yelled along to and all feet jumping off the ground. Teenage Kicks sent the place wild. Exactly what was called for and delivered.

Finally the Burns Night Carnival. This year celebrating UNESCO’s Year of Light. There were hundreds of children with handmade lanterns to begin the parade. Smiles abundant even through the chilly evening. Followed by a psychedelic arrangement of characters representing the world as it could be without light. A large carrot funeral pyre, followed by smaller and smaller dancing carrots, spinning candy dancers and roaring warriors. A huge scarecrow followed by ever decreasing sizes of scarecrows, a large Sergeant Pepper puppet followed by the Dumfries Community Choir in matching Sergeant Pepper coats. The huge puppet girl, who is dreaming the whole carnival characters, followed by an enormous kilt clad octopus leading the way before lots and lots of dancing sea creatures. The carnival was made up from hundreds of volunteers from local community groups, schools and artists. It was incredibly impressive to watch and felt like a perfect event to end a perfect launch weekend. Well done Big Burns Supper. And yet is more to come!

Review: Lou Hyland