Upper Eskdale Development Group: A Night of Celebration!
Event at a glance:
Location: Dumfries and Galloway
Date: 25 October 2025
Number of Staff & Volunteers: 12
Number of Attendees: 35
First-time participant? Yes
Bursary support received: Yes
What they said:
We took part because it’s so important to celebrate that the community owns the Hub – it’s an amazing resource that really deserves recognition. We had displays of old school photos and records, films made about the Hub (including from our oral history projects and visitors), and even brought down the old school bible and bell. That night, we had a few ghostly goings-on with things switching on by themselves, so we’ve safely tucked those back in the cupboard!
We were delighted by the number of new people who came – six newcomers, all keen to support the Hub. It was a great way for them to meet everyone and learn more about what we do.
The evening included a curry, a quiz, and karaoke. The quiz was brilliant, with four general knowledge rounds and one on the Hub itself, highlighting our classes, electricity costs, and village history. Karaoke got a few of us up singing and laughing together. The feedback was so positive that we’re now discussing a monthly community get-together with quizzes, karaoke, and board games.
It was also a chance to show how much the Hub benefits the community, while explaining that your funding makes it possible. With more volunteers helping with food and activities, we could make these events happen regularly – proving just how valuable the Hub is to everyone.
Outcomes and Community Feedback:
I was told that the they were blown away with how great the night was and what lovely community and building we had. That they were new and were keen to get involved and support us if they could. One person had a hangover, one person had a sore throat from singing… one person who has lived in the valley for 10 or more years said it was the first thing they had come to, and they made new friends and have been back since. So it has been really good feedback. they just want more. What we need to get is help to keep the hub open… we need £30,000 core costs to keep us afloat… and so we will keep on looking.
Challenges:
We had a right faff with getting the right food. We had started out wanting outside caters to come in, but they were going to cost us £35 a head. So that was a no. So we used our staff, but that meant they did not get involved in the social part which was a shame. It was the same night as fireworks locally so we lost a few folk to that. People couldn’t understand that Community Land Festival was about us, as we dont own ‘land’.. but we explained.