Dundee’s council leader says he hopes Winterfest at Slessor Gardens can become a permanent feature of the city’s Christmas celebrations.
John Alexander has taken to the ice at the new Waterfront rink ahead of the festival opening to the public on Friday.
The ice rink is joined by a Christmas market, bar, big wheel and children’s rides in what is the first proper festive event at the venue.
And while this is Winterfest’s debut, Mr Alexander says he is keen to see something similar in place year after year.
He told The Courier: “I’m really excited, both as a father to two young children who are dead excited about Christmas and as the leader of the council.
“This is the biggest and best Christmas showcase that we’ve managed to put on in a great number of years.
“I know that people have been calling out for years in the city for more investment and more activities around Christmas time, so the fact that we’ve delivered that this year and we’ve done it across the city centre and Slessor Gardens is a symbol of pride for me.
“I want this to be a permanent fixture but I also want us to learn from what we’ve done.
“This is the first time we’ve done it in this way – there will be elements that we can build on and improve on.
“I’m looking at how we include businesses and organisations who perhaps want to partner or sponsor this event to make it bigger and better.
“It needs to be accessible to everyone in the city and like I say this is just the start.
“It’s just the beginning.”
‘It’s creating hundreds – hopefully thousands – of jobs’
Winterfest is part of a series of festive events and activities taking place in the city centre this year.
But Mr Alexander insists the council’s focus is not solely on investing in the Waterfront.
He said: “The Waterfront has allowed us to bring in money from lots of places, from the Scottish Government, from the European Union, from other sources.
“It’s a leveraging tool and it’s creating jobs, hundreds – hopefully thousands – of jobs.
“Events like this are really important because they help create vibrancy.
“I’m very conscious of the problems that have faced retail for a number of years and have been compounded by Covid.
“This type of event will not only benefit the stallholders here, but benefit our businesses from retail all the way through to bars and restaurants.”
On Thursday look out for our interactive map, telling you all you need to know about Winterfest 2021.
