THOUSANDS of people weren't going to let it rain on their parade as they flocked into town for Cowdenbeath Gala on Sunday.
It cost around £20,000 to put together and it didn't disappoint with the day kicking off with a colourful march – the theme celebrated Disney's 100th birthday – from Woodend Industrial Estate to the public park.
And there was fun in the sun with around 1,500 wristbands snapped up by kids so they could enjoy the fun fair and bouncing around on the inflatables.
A spokesperson for Cowdenbeath Civic Week told the Times: "At one stage I thought it was too much, there's only a small number of us on the committee, but with the lovely comments we've had and the feedback on Facebook have made all the effort worthwhile.
"That really made it for us.
"We're really pleased with how the event turned out and the sun coming out certainly helped, as it didn't look too promising in the morning."
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The civic week committee thanked all the volunteers, businesses and groups that stepped up to help.
Williamson Haulage kindly supplied two lorries for the floats which added extra spectacle to the parade, which left from Woodend Industrial Estate and meandered along Broad Street, High Street and Foulford Road before arriving at the park.
She added: "It's over a mile and I think it's one of the longest gala parades, but we never get to see it as we're always busy setting up in the park! Going by all the photos and feedback it was really good.
"The theme was Disney's 100th birthday, we thought that would give plenty of scope for dressing up and decorating the two floats, which were done by the civic week and Beath community use.
"The Iota's were the band that performed at the park while we had pipe and brass bands, so many groups were involved in making it a great day."
She added: "The mini petting zoo was a big hit, the circus was providing hula hoops and teaching kids how to juggle, we had the dance troupes and a five-a-side football tournament, which was won by Foulford Primary School girls and Kelty PS boys.
"We sold about 1,500 wristbands for the fun fair and inflatables. We do try and keep costs down as much as possible."
The gala cost at least £20,000 to put on – the final total wasn't available at time of going to print – and raising the money is only part of it.
The committee were left sweating for entertainment and market licences, they didn't receive them until Friday, and with no guarantee that the police would be able to attend they had to fork out more money for road traffic management.
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Add in insurance costs and risk assessments "for every part of the day" and of course the fundraising to make sure it goes ahead in the first place, and it's a sizeable task to put on the town's biggest day of fun for the children.
She said: "It was a challenge to get it done but we're hoping the success of it will encourage more people to get involved.
"We do need people to join the committee to make sure the event continues in the future.
"In 2019 we had 15 on the committee, now it's six."
Anyone wishing to get involved can get in touch through the Cowdenbeath Civic Week Facebook page or email civicweekenquiries@outlook.com.
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