The community, which is known as the Commonwealth Village, is coming together to celebrate from March 12-19.
A number of local organisations are planning an impressive array of activities during the gala week, with something for all ages.
It will kick off on Saturday 12 with two musical acts and those who buy tickets will be encouraged to embrace the Commonwealth theme. On Sunday, the Devil’s Porridge Museum takes up the Commonwealth cudgels with traditional children’s games in the grounds and the appearance of the Time Bandits bringing history to life.
The museum will also host a free open evening on Monday featuring tastes of the Commonwealth and a chance to meet new curator Emma Gillielands.
Eastriggs Primary School will be involved in the week and Dumfries and Galloway Council Youth service will bring their My Pod interactive bus on the Wednesday to involve teenagers.
It is hoped that there will be a Commonwealth Quiz at the Wayside Inn on Friday night.
And the Gala week will culminate at Melbourne Park with a free Commonwealth Games Spectacular Saturday, which will be one of the biggest events held in Eastriggs for many years. Families can take part in a huge number of activities and children can win medals. Professional acts have been booked like Circus Avago to amaze the crowds and teach their tricks. Angus McLaugh, The Magic Juggler, will mingle and you can try out hobby horse jousting and beat the goalie, while there will also be bouncy castles, roundabouts and face painting.
The idea for the event originated from the local museum and its chairman Richard Brodie explained: “The whole thing has snowballed from the small initial budget we had for a low key event. Everyone though has come together to make it something special with Eastriggs Community Group and Annan the History Town putting money and effort into the mix. Sponsors like Rotary have come forward and local businesses have been very supportive. It means that our community can come out of covid with a bang and come from Auckland Walk to the Rand to celebrate being the Commonwealth Village.”
