All Scottish Government Covid 19 restrictions that applied to public venues have been reassessed as advisory, rather than a legal requirement.
Therefore, there will no longer be a requirement to complete a ‘Track and Trace’ form, wear masks or use hand sanitiser.
Whilst the restrictions have been reassessed to advisory please continue to be kind to people and respect their space. Hand sanitiser stations will still be available in the Town Hall.
Thank you to everyone for following the rules in the past, let’s hope brighter times are ahead
Forres is hosting a four-day event to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
A number of community groups from across the town are working together to create a programme of events kicking off on Thursday, June 2.
The celebrations will include live music, a picnic in the park, music from the Forres & District Pipe Band, a performance of the official Queen’s Jubilee song and the return of the Toun Mercat.
Forres Community Council, Forres In Bloom and the Forres Community Activities Association are taking a lead on the organisation of the event.
Kathleen Robertson, chair of the Forres Community Council said: “We are very excited to be working as a community to stage a very special event spanning four days to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Once again, Forres is proving what a great community spirit it has, and we are well on our way to creating a fabulous occasion that the whole town will be able to enjoy.”
The event will kick off on the evening of Thursday, June 2 with the Tolbooth being lit up to stand as a ‘beacon,’ and will become part of a network of more than 1,500 beacons being lit throughout the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, and UK overseas territories.
At 9.35pm, Pipers from the Forres & District Pipe Band will play ‘Diu Regnare’ – a unique tune especially written for the Platinum Jubilee. Imogen Symon, will play cornet piece ‘Majesty’ at 9.40pm which will officially announce the lighting of the Tolbooth at 9.45pm to the song ‘A Life Lived With Grace,’ by the Forres Youth Choir which is being performed at beacon lighting ceremonies up and down the country.
On Friday, the Toun Mercat will take place organised by the Forres Community Activities Association and on Sunday, people are being invited to a Picnic in the Park event at Grant Park where there will be a fancy-dress competition, tree planting, fun runs, live music and more.
Rachel Philp, a volunteer with the FCAA said: “It’s so great to be bringing events back to Forres and for such a great reason. The Toun Mercat last took place in 2018 and usually takes place every three years as part of Scottish Week but 2021 was cancelled due to Covid 19, so this Mercat is being specially pulled together to help the town celebrate the Jubilee. We are now taking applications from people who want to take stalls and get involved and all they need to do is get in touch.”
Kathleen added: “There really is something for everyone to enjoy, from special church services and bell ringing to the picnic in the park with lots of family activities. We want people to come along and enjoy themselves and if anyone has other ideas of how they can get involved in any part of what we are creating, we urge them to get in touch. This is an event by the community for the community.”
Kathleen Robertson and Rachel Philp
Businesses in Forres are being encouraged to get involved in the town’s Jubilee celebrations by dressing their properties or windows with a ‘royal’ theme.
The Forres Area Business Association is making the appeal to businesses as the town gears up to host a number events to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Claire Doughty, a director with FABA said: “The whole community is working together to bring something really special to Forres and the key organisers of the events have asked us to rally the businesses and get them involved. From Thursday, June 2 through to June 5 there will several events taking place, predominantly in the town centre, so we hope that we can get the town looking festive.”
Claire added: “It’s great to see so much going on and we are pleased many businesses are staging their own events too. Forres is great at putting on a show and it looks like the Queen’s Jubilee will be celebrated in style.”
To book a stall at the Toun Mercat follow this link:
FORRES SPIRIT OF COMMUNITY CONSULTATION APRIL 2022
The Forres Area Community Trust (FACT) & other local organisations have come together to ask for views to help identify & understand the priorities of the Community under four themes.
Each theme will be used to format questions for you to respond to in the survey. This information will be collated with other research gathered to help us develop a community plan for the Forres Academy catchment area. You will not be asked for your name and address (only postcode) and your answers will not be separately identifiable. To access the survey click the button or use the link below.
The pandemic has deeply affected our community over the last two years, but we came together to support and help each other. Since the last Spirit of Community event in 2014 we have seen many changes and lots of Forres area based organisations have made a difference to where we live. The aim of the event is to bring together community representatives to discuss what we have in common and identify what our priorities are for the next 5 to 10 years building on what we already know and can do.
6.30 p.m.⠀⠀Tea, coffee and networking
7.00 p.m.⠀⠀Welcome, hosting and introductions by Seymour Monro
7.10 p.m.⠀⠀ Short presentation about what progress we have made over the last 8 years and how that informs our plans for the future.
7.30 p.m.⠀⠀Discussion groups (30 minutes per session) on the following themes:
⠀⠀⠀⠀1. The Local Environment
⠀⠀⠀⠀2. Transport, Traffic and Access
⠀⠀⠀⠀3. Leisure and Tourism
⠀⠀⠀⠀4. Facilities and Services
8.05 p.m.⠀⠀Rotate to second theme group
8.35 p.m.⠀⠀Summary of each group and feedback – facilitators can feedback on the top 3 items for each table
REAP (Rural Environmental Action Project) are running an energy advice workshop on 29 March 22 in the Forres Town Hall – come along and join their workshop to get help and learn, from start to finish, how to deal with your fuel debt and to keep it off. For more details please click the link:
Forres Town Hall is now running a full programme of activities all in accordance with the current Covid guidelines; please note that it is still a legal requirement to wear masks in public places whilst standing or walking around. Other measures aimed at protecting you are now advisory, such as hand sanitising and social distancing. Forres Town Hall still undertakes regular cleaning for your peace of mind. Please see the events section of this website for more details or give us a ring if you have any queries or questions.
If an event is cancelled or postponed we will aim to notify you as soon as possible. We apologise in advance if this causes problems, however, due to the rapid nature of the virus sometimes changes cannot be helped. Your understanding is greatly appreciated.
Many thanks and we look forward to seeing you in our Town Hall.
For the latest Covid Guidelines from the Scottish Government click on the link below
Please note: all Forres Online Activities this week 14 -18 March are cancelled due to a number of positive Covid tests. Please accept our apologies. We will publish more details in this newsfeed to confirm if activities will resume next week 21 March.
