Dumfries town centre is to be lit up for three evenings with an innovative Northern Lights free light and sound installation later this month.
To mark the relaunch of Big Burns Supper Festival, images and videos of sightings of the Aurora Borealis in the region’s skies, taken by Dumfries and Galloway residents during the past year, will be projected onto a building and recycled real Christmas trees – collected on Sunday from donor households who answered an online appeal – are being transformed into a work of art.
The Aurora Borealis images – 300 were contributed – have been crafted into a four-minute looped film which will be underscored by a new performance piece by Dumfries Community Choir and shown and as one of six new installations in key places on a town trail for the public to enjoy, from 5pm to 7pm, from Friday, January 17, to Sunday, January 19.
A spokesperson for Big Burns Supper said: “The public will get to see hidden places in Dumfries like never before – each of them using light, sound and projection in their own unique way. Start where you want and do it any order you like, and it is suitable for all the family.”
One of the most popular will be the resting place of national bard Robert Burns in St Michael’s Kirkyard.
There will be the opportunity to step inside Burns Mausoleum and experience the sights and sounds in tribute to the former Dumfries resident.
Another will be the Suspension Bridge over the River Nith which is being brought to life by The Stove Network in celebrating the connection to the showpeople behind the annual Rood Fair.
The white Lights of Hope, devised and sponsored by Mark Jardine of The People’s Project Charity, are also one of the installations, encouraging residents and visitors to wander through Bank Street and the Whitesands to see how they spread some cheer as a beacon of light and hope in the darkest days of the year from December to February.
Mark said: “Many people find it hard to cope with those dark, bleak months which are a challenge to many. Mental health is something no-one should take for granted and with the Lights of Hope, we want to brighten the environment and breathe life into people’s spirits in the process.”
Another on the trail is Greyfriars Church with the public are invited to go inside and light a candle at the Immortal Memory as a “silent memorial for those not with us anymore, for Auld Lang Syne”.
And there will also be an interactive light show inside the former Jumping Jacks night club.
This has been designed to explore, what those behind it said is: “the vast division in our community created by social media and a growing lack of empathy towards each other”.