I has a taste of my first ever Glasgow Style Mile Carnival – it’s an annual landmark costumed extravaganza created by the council and local businesses to celebrate the launch of the Christmas shopping season and promoting Glasgow city centre as one of the best UK retail capitals.
The Glasgow Style Mile Carnival was launched in 2009 and for the past six years produced by Bridgeman Arts that managed to pull together an impressive mix of performance artists, musicians, street entertainers, floats, festive rides, as well as lots of community groups from across the city. I enjoyed the stylish Holly characters on stilts (Great idea!), giant puppets, elves with long pointy ears and a steam punk themed parade section, all against the background of House of Fraser’s wall of twinkling fairy lights.
This year’s carnival theme was “A Festive Fayre” and involved hundreds of performers, drawing prospective Xmas shoppers by thousands. The streets along the route from St Enoch Square to George Square were lined 4-5 times and it was pretty hard to get a clear view of the costumed procession for my camera. I managed to squeeze myself into the crowd and get a strategic position over a female spectator in a wheelchair opposite House of Fraser on Argyle Street. The music and cheering were pretty loud and I hope she didn’t mind the clicking sounds above her head!
The fun carnival atmosphere reminded me of Dumfries Big Burns Supper parades, a bit of a nostalgic pine…
