Dumfries Town Board

09/06/2026

📚 On International Archives Day, we’re delighted to finally begin sharing news of our brand new Pride of Place Dumfries & Galloway project… ✨

Building on our work on StoryTrails, Dr Flora Murray, The Story of a Fairy Family, Creative Caerlaverock, and The Missing Museum we’re incredibly excited to announce ‘Out of the Archives’ - our new community heritage initiative supported through the Dumfries Town Board’s Pride in Place programme.

Led by us at The Imaginarium / The Gallovidian Way in partnership with our long time collaborators at Arts D&G and Dumfries and Galloway Heritage Service, with strands to be delivered alongside our other favourite collaborators at The Crichton + Dumfries Museum and the people of Dumfries, the project will explore overlooked, hidden, underrepresented, and erased stories connected to Dumfries (providing A Fuller History of Dumfries) bringing more diverse local histories, voices and lived experiences to the fore through creative community engagement, interdisciplinary storytelling, immersive experiences and archival exploration.

We are soooo excited to finally get this project up and running!

As part of this early soft launch, we’ll be joining the upcoming Pride in Place Drop-In Sessions hosted by Dumfries Town Board, where local people can come meet us, hear more about the project, ask questions and find out how to get involved.

These informal sessions are a chance to:
✨ Meet the project team
✨ Hear more about the vision behind ‘Out of the Archives’
✨ Learn what kinds of stories and histories we’ll be exploring
✨ Find out how local people can participate
✨ Share your own memories, ideas and perspectives about Dumfries and its history

Whether you’re passionate about local heritage, interested in archives, curious about hidden stories, or simply want to hear more about what’s emerging through Pride of Place Dumfries & Galloway - we’d love to chat with you…

📅 Dumfries Town Board Drop In Session dates we’ll be attending:
• Thursday 18 June 2026, 10am–2pm
• Friday 19 June 2026, 10am–2pm
• Thursday 25 June 2026, 5pm–7pm

📍 Venue:
Dumfries Town Board Office
The Hub, 24–26 Friars Vennel, Dumfries, DG1 2RL

Alongside “Out of the Archives”, you’ll also be able to hear more about Dumfries Town Board’s wider Pride in Place programme, it’s other Year One projects, and the long-term ambitions helping shape the future of Dumfries.

This project is rooted in the belief that archives belong to everyone - and that the stories shaping Dumfries should reflect the richness of diversity and lived experiences of the people who call this place home.

09/06/2026

Dumfries Shine – Day 2 ✨

Another fantastic day of community spirit in Dumfries!

Today, our volunteers worked hard across Brooms Road Car Park, Brooms Road, the Whitesands, and the bus shelters, helping to brighten up some of our town’s busiest areas.

A huge thank you to all the volunteers who came along and got stuck in, despite having to dodge the rain showers throughout the day. Your time, energy, and dedication are what make events like this such a success.

We would also like to extend our thanks to the Roads Department for supplying the water and for helping us transport equipment between the different locations. Your support is greatly appreciated and helped keep everything running smoothly.

Every little bit of effort makes a difference, and it’s great to see so many people coming together to help keep Dumfries looking its best.

Thank you everyone, onwards to Day 3! 🌟

09/06/2026

Dumfries Town Board has been jointly working with The People’s Project to plant out the planters along the High Street.

Thankfully, The People’s Project managed to dodge the recent hailstorm and all planters are now full of flowers.

Once we get some sunshine, the plants should establish quickly and fill out beautifully. Around half of the plants are perennials, meaning they won’t need replacing next year. They are also excellent for pollinators, which will be a real benefit when we welcome the Keep Scotland Beautiful judges.

A big thank you to everyone involved in helping to brighten up our town centre. 🌸🌿

08/06/2026

☀️ Dumfries Shine – Day 1 ☀️

What a fantastic start to Dumfries Shine! The sun was shining, spirits were high, and our team got straight to work on the High Street.

Today’s efforts focused on giving some of our town centre features a refresh, with benches, bins, and lampposts all receiving a thorough clean. It’s amazing what a difference a little care and attention can make to the look and feel of our streets.

A big thank you to everyone involved in making Day 1 such a success. We’re looking forward to building on this momentum over the coming days and continuing to help keep Dumfries looking its best.

Thank you to the Roads department in the council for providing the water supply and to our team of volunteers who are always willing to lend a hand to anything.

☀️🧹✨

08/06/2026

Join us at our Pride in Place Drop-In Sessions!

The Dumfries Town Board would like to invite everyone to our upcoming Pride in Place drop-in sessions, where we'll be sharing our exciting plans for the future of Dumfries.

📅 Session dates:
• Thursday 18 June 2026, 10am–2pm
• Friday 19 June 2026, 10am–2pm
• Monday 22 June 2026, 10am–2pm
• Thursday 25 June 2026, 5pm–7pm

📍 Venue:
Dumfries Town Board Office
The Hub, 24–26 Friars Vennel, Dumfries, DG1 2RL

Come along to hear more about our 17 Year One projects, our longer-term ambitions, and the key themes that will help shape Dumfries in the years ahead.

This is your opportunity to meet Town Board staff, Board members, and project partners, ask questions, share your thoughts, and find out how these projects will benefit our community.

We can't wait to share what we have planned! We'll also be providing more details about each project in the weeks leading up to the sessions, so keep an eye on our channels for updates.

08/06/2026

🌟 Dumfries Shine is back on the streets! 🌟

Today we are focusing on the High Street and surrounding areas as we help get Dumfries ready for Guid Nychburris 2026.

📅 8th to the 12th June
🕙 10:00am – 1:00pm
📍 Meet at The Hub

All equipment is provided, and refreshments will be available at The Hub after the session.

Whether you can spare an hour or stay for the whole session, we'd love to see you there. Together, let's make Dumfries shine for one of our town's most cherished celebrations! ✨

08/06/2026

✨ Meet the Team Monday ✨

Meet Christine Gourlay founder of In Step Dance Studios on Dumfries High Street. With over a decade in business, Christine has built a thriving community through leadership, events management, marketing, sales, and social media expertise.

Alongside running the studio, Christine’s entrepreneurial ventures include keynote speaking, workshop hosting, success coaching, digital marketing, podcasting, e-commerce, web design, and more.

Passionate about Dumfries and the people within it, Christine is excited to continue contributing to the growth and success of the region through her work with Dumfries Board.

08/06/2026

06/06/2026

What a fabulous evening at the DG Chamber Awards last night!

Dumfries Town Board was delighted to present the inaugural Dumfries Shine Community Award, recognising the incredible dedication and hard work of volunteers who make such a positive difference to our town every day.

A huge congratulations to our outstanding finalists, A Patch Ae Land and Allan Airley, and especially to our worthy winners, The People’s Project. Their volunteers work tirelessly throughout the year, from maintaining Castle D***s Park and caring for planters across the town to litter picking in the early hours when most of us are still asleep. Their commitment to improving Dumfries is truly inspiring.

It was wonderful to see so many people enjoying the evening and receiving recognition for the invaluable contribution they make to our community.

Please enjoy this small selection of photos taken on our mobile phones during the event. Official photographs will be available on the Chamber’s page soon.

Finally, well done to Jamie for organising such a fantastic event, congratulations to all the finalists and winners, and thank you to everyone who helped make the evening such a success.

***sPark