When is galashiels gala day

Principals then exchange medals at a short ceremony. A number of additional events take place to extend the festivities across the Gathering week, but notably, the week begins with the Kirking of the Braw Lad, Braw Lass and attendants, followed by the ride-out to Lindean Kirkyard, site of the first parish church of Galashiels, on the Monday. As well as celebrating our history, the Gathering is a source of unity for the present and sends out to the young generation a message of community and optimism for our future.

Their marriage, which linked the royal houses of Scotland and England, led to the Union of the Crowns one hundred years later, an event symbolised by handing over of earth and stone of the forest the Act of Sasine which took place near the tower and manor of Galashiels The granting of a Charter as Burgh of Barony to the people of Galashiels by Sir James Pringle of Gala in , enabling the holding of an annual Fair and establishing the identity of the town as an independent unit The Act of Homage at the War Memorial in recognition of the sacrifices of the people of Galashiels in the Great War of and in deepest respect for the fallen The Act of Homage, which concludes the ceremonial part of the Gathering morning, is one of its most moving and spectacular ceremonies.

May it continue every year for all time. The Braw Lads Gathering of Galashiels. Instituted in , the Braw Lads Gathering is in many ways a revival of the Midsummer Fair which was a feature of the local calendar in former days. There is evidence to suggest that there had been at one time a Galashiels Summer Festival held in what then was and still is called Gala Park to the west of the town, but it appears to have faded away in the later half of the nineteenth century as the park was swallowed up in the rapid growth of the town.

A feeling that it should be revived in a form appropriate to the changing times became apparent after the first world war. The original proposal for the Gathering came from the Provost, J.

Past Principals of the gathering. Dates for your diary to be confirmed for Saturday, 2nd July, Website Feedback. Privacy Policy. A Gala Lass Production.