Glassford is set to come to a standstill as locals raise a glass at the beer and gin festival.
Organisers expect around 600 to enjoy the event on March 30, almost doubling the numbers of the debut beer and gin festival in the village.
They have been given the green light to shut down Jackson Street and will be taking the party atmosphere to the streets this time around – expanding on the original set-up in the Village Hall and Steayban restaurant.
Brewers and independent brands from across Scotland will flock to Avondale for the big day, with music and taste-testing events also on offer.
Les Hoggan from the Glassford Community Group, who have helped bring the annual highlight together, hoped the event would be bigger and better than the first time around.
“It’s all go for us now,” he said. “We are getting the final bands and brewers in place.
“When we started planning for this year, we knew we wanted it to be bigger than last year. We will have more beers and more gins than we did then.
“We got permission to go outwith the Steayban and Village Hall and go onto the street this year. That has given us a lot more space to work with.
“The tickets also sold a lot faster this year – and we had a lot more of them. It took us a while to sell our 350 last year, but we sold out in four days this time.
“Aside from that, the local support has been great. We have got 26 sponsors so far and we’re really grateful for that.”
The village is also set to debut ‘The Glesart’ gin made by the local small-batch producer McLean’s Gin .
The drink uses gooseberries and elderflowers from the Harris Farm shop near the village while the label has been designed by local artist and Creative Strathaven founder Mhairi Anderson.
Just 50 bottles will be on sale in the village. A lucky few have snapped up a couple of pre-ordered bottles and it is expected to be a favourite on the day.
“It’s an exclusive gin just for the village and Colin has put a lot of great work into sorting it out for us.
“I imagine a lot of people will want to give it a try before it runs out!”
Beer and Gin Festival events will run from 12 noon and 9pm between the Village Hall, the Steayban and Jackson Street.
For more information visit the ‘Glassford Beer and Gin Festival’ and ‘Glassford Community Group’ Facebook pages.
