Rescue package for Dumfries & Galloway Doors Open Days event agreed

19 July 2011

This year's Dumfries and Galloway Doors Open Days weekend is back on track.

The popular event will go ahead on the 24th and 25th September following a rescue plan created by The Glenkens Community & Arts Trust (GCAT), with support from Dumfries and Galloway Council and The Holywood Trust.

Doors Open Days is co-ordinated nationally by the Scottish Civic Trust and is now in its 21st year.  In Dumfries and Galloway, Doors Open Days has taken place since 1993. The regional event, successfully run for many years by the environmental agency Solway Heritage, came under serious threat until GCAT and its partners stepped in.

The Glenkens Community & Arts Trust was formed in 2001 with the aim of developing an old derelict primary school into a local community hub, now an established community resource, The CatStrand.  GCAT's long-term vision is to enhance and enrich the lives of people in the Glenkens through a range of initiatives and activities.

The team at GCAT is to be joined by Jean Atkin, who worked on Doors Open Days between 2002 and 2007, and Glenkens freelance Alison Caldwell.  Anyone wishing to propose a venue for this year's event should contact Jean by Monday 25th July at jean@wordsparks.co.uk

"The theme for this year's Doors Open Days is 'The Key of the Door', reflecting both the fact that in Scotland Doors Open Days celebrates its 21st birthday this year and also GCAT's aspiration to increase the involvement of young people across the region." Alison