Welcome to the Oban Winter Festival!
Back in 2011, a small group of locals decided that the start of winter was a great excuse to have a Festival. They organized a Victorian Market to run alongside the Reindeer Parade, ice rink, Comedy nights, music workshops for children, cocktails for the grown-ups, a ceilidh or two – all of which made the Festival a great success. News spread quickly and the next year people came from further afield to join the festivities.
Festival action takes place mainly in town and getting from place to place is very easy. Oban is quite compact and walking is a fantastic way to get around. Discover the great shopping, bars and restaurants that make this town tick, take a tour of the local distillery and sample our national drink, or a relaxing coffee in one of our many cafes, soaking up the beautiful view of the bay.
Events vary each day from family favourites like the Reindeer Parade and Christmas light switch on to the ceilidhs and light shows.
We can provide all manner of accommodation options for your stay here, from apartments in the town centre, to hotels and intimate bed and breakfasts, we can recommend some of the finest food and wine establishments that this town boasts -so why not come and join the biggest winter party in the West.
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Award Winning
The organisers of the Oban Winter Festival have recently been honoured with the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.
David Finlayson from Oban Winter Festival committee will attend a garden party at Holyrood on July 5 where he will meet the Queen and other winners of this year’s award.
The Lord-Lieutenant of Argyll and Bute, Patrick Stewart, said: “When I saw the nomination I was convinced that the Oban Winter Festival should be nominated for the award. This was reinforced by the assessment prepared for me by Andrew Campbell, a Depute Lieutenant of Argyll and Bute. The award is the equivalent of an MBE awarded to an individual and in this case is richly deserved for its support of the Oban community and businesses at what otherwise would be quite time of year.”
Oban Winter Festival Committee will receive the award from the Lord Lieutenant of Argyll and Bute later this summer.
Source: Press & Journal
Community Groups & Schools
The festival is community event and everyone takes part in some way, schools fund raise with stalls at markets, and join the children’s massed choir, charities take up the offer of free stalls.
A local charity also sponsors the festival, bringing fairgrounds to town for the children.
Businesses
Businesses decorate their windows in winter themes and display the shoe boxes children have made for the competition, host events for charity, stay open late and put on special offers.
Donations & Volunteers
Over the years the Oban Winter Festival has been made reality through the help and generosity of the local community and businesses. If you wish to volunteer or have a skill you think would benefit the organization then please contact us via the contacts page. We also accept donations of all sizes, this can be done through PayPal’s secure servers.
