Community Land Festival celebrated in Midsteeple Quarter

A special cake was cut as part of a celebration of community spirit, power and enterprise held in Midsteeple Quarter.

As a society owned by - and working for - our community, the best interests of the people and place of Dumfries is at the heart of all that we do.

Our small team is working incredibly hard on behalf of our members so that our community-owned buildings can open new opportunities and be a real catalyst for positive change in the town centre.

All of that was celebrated at part of an event held to mark Scotland’s Community Land Festival at The Smithy, one of our buildings on Dumfries High Street.

Visitors were treated to a specially-baked cake from Batter & Patter, an enterprise run by Jane Gordon and Zoe Savage which uses Midsteeple Quarter’s pop-up spaces.  It makes only gluten-free and dairy-free cakes.

David Moyes with some of his photographs on display in The Smithy

There was also a display of photographs showing Midsteeple Quarter-owned buildings by David Moyes. The framed prints are being sold for £100 each, with the proceeds going to Educate and Empower Uganda, which supports children in the African nation. He is part-way through a project of photographing empty buildings across Dumfries and Galloway which will be collated into an exhibition next year. For Midsteeple Quarter, it documents part of the journey our society is on.

Visitors, meanwhile, also got to see the creative talents of Maryna Muzychenko and Albina Solovei from Craft Space UK, which is based in part of the neighbouring Midsteeple Quarter building at 111 High Street.

Craft Space UK showcased some of their products in The Smithy

And they also met the team from another 111 High Street tenant, Make A Scene Scotland.

Jakob Kaye, our enterprise manager, said: “It was great to welcome folk in, enjoy a cuppa, some cake and chat about the opportunities we have in Midsteeple Quarter, as well as sampling some of our community’s creative and entrepreneurial talents.”

Dumfries is among dozens of community-owned projects highlighting the aspirations and benefits of local empowerment. 

The Community Land Festival is organised by Community Land Scotland and is a follow-on from Community Land Week. Such was the level of demand from the burgeoning number of enthusiastic community groups that Community Land Week was extended to a fortnight and has now developed to a Festival. 

“There has been a general sense of gloom about the economy and the cost of living,’ says Meg Taintor, assistant development manager at Community Land Scotland. “We do think that community-level ownership and development are a very direct and practical way to improve life for local areas. 

“Local people know what is best for their community and the process of taking control and empowerment often brings optimism and aspiration to communities.”

Find out more about the Community Land Festival here.

David Moyes’ photographs showing the interior of some of our community-owned buildings in Dumfries