Danielle Lappin, Reporter

HELENSBURGH town centre was busy with people exploring the variety of activities on offer at the summer festival.

The event organised by the Helensburgh and Lomond Chamber of Commerce attracted thousands of people from all over for a full day on fun and music.

The normal monthly farmers market was extended to include a wide range of stalls selling everything from garden ornaments to spinning tops as well as a delicious selection of food and produce stalls.

By the end of the day many of the stalls had all but sold out while the neighbouring shops and cafes all did a roaring trade.

As well as the market, the Square was home to a beautiful Victorian chair o'plane ride, exciting MoD sniffer dog displays, Helensburgh Tree Conservation Trust and the RSPB who all attracted large crowds of visitors.

Throughout the day the highly talented Neptune Volunteer Band provided a backdrop of jazz which added greatly to the festival atmosphere.

Councillor Aileen Morton attended the festival for a day of fun with her family, she said: “It was great to see the town centre so busy for the Summer Festival on Saturday, it created a real buzz about the place. With lots of activities to choose from I spent several hours in town with my family – my son really enjoyed a different view of the town from the bungee trampolines!”

Down on the seafront visitors were offered a chance to “dunk-a-sailor”, get breathless on the bungy trampolines, try their hand at a climbing wall, an army-style obstacle course brought along by the Army Cadets and see the amazing robot that hunts for IEDs as well as to find out more about the Army Cadets, what Babcock does at Faslane and joining the Navy.

Councillor Vivien Dance also enjoyed the day’s festivities and everything the festival had to offer. She said: “Vivien Dance - What a great day Saturday’s event was for the community and all the visitors who came to town for the day. There was something for everyone on the day and it was a pleasure to see the square and the seafront so busy, particularly with young families who seemed to want to try everything.”

The organisers persevered as the day started off rather wet but the clouds dispersed just in time for all the families, who came out in force, to enjoy the day.

A spokesman for the Chamber of Commerce said: “It all went very well. We were delighted by the turn out and know that as well as townsfolk coming out in force we had visitors from much further afield.

“The only slightly disappointing thing was perhaps the shortage of volunteers to help with the set-up and taking down of the event. The Summer Festival receives no funding from the Council and if it is to continue we will need more support from local businesses and to find more volunteers to help out with the organisation and running of the event.

“These events are designed to attract people to Helensburgh and to allow local businesses to showcase themselves to the visitors but it would be a great help if more would come forward to join in and help out.”

Both Councillor Aileen Morton and Vivien Dance extended their thanks to the Chamber of Commerce who did so well in the organising and for their hard work in running the very successful event.

If you are interested in volunteering and offering support, contact rogerferdinand@btinternet.com