Lighting up the Blackford community
Blackford Festive Lights continues to receive funding from the Blackford Community Fund to bring festive cheer to their community each year.
Blackford is a small village between Perth and Stirling with approximately 900 residents. Many Blackford community groups provide essential services and activities that might otherwise be unavailable in this rural village.Several of these groups regularly apply to the Blackford Community Fund, receiving year-on-year support to sustain their important work.
The Blackford Community Fund supports various community groups that provide essential activities and services, including leisure pursuits and opportunities for social connection. Blackford Festive Lights exemplifies this ongoing partnership.
Their goal was to create an annual festive lighting display in the village high street. Since it was established in 2011, the group has received 17 awards totalling £19,100 from the Blackford Community Fund. Every year their events bring a highly valued social benefit to residents of the Blackford Community Council area.
The organisation has grown considerably since its beginning and now offers, not only a community light switch-on event but also refreshments, children's fairground rides, a Santa's Grotto and gifts for all children. The lighting display has evolved to include a sustainable 'living' Christmas tree that is relit each year.
The free events typically attract over 600 residents and visitors annually. This inclusive community celebration is particularly valuable for low-income families during the winter season. Newcomers and visitors consistently praise the quality of the celebrations and the community spirit they generate.
While individual grants to Blackford Festive Lights have not exceeded £1,500, the event's continued success demonstrates how sustained funding, even through small awards, can help community groups flourish and expand their impact.