A “CREATIVE and inventive” version of Dunbar Civic Week is being planned to brighten up the summer.

Many larger traditional community events usually held in East Lothian in the coming months have been cancelled or been scaled down due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The volunteers behind Dunbar Civic Week have vowed that there will be celebrations this year, although there will no mass gatherings.

This summer also marks 50 years since the first Dunbar Civic Week in 1971.

George Robertson, who chairs the Civic Week planning committee, said there would still be fun in the town in June.

“We are keen for Civic Week to be a celebration of our wonderful community,” he told the Courier.

“Dunbar is a growing town and this is a great opportunity to welcome our newcomers to the fantastic things going on locally.

“The children of the town have always been at the centre of Civic Week and, although there will be no Royal Court this year, we do hope that these competitions will provide our local families with the opportunity to celebrate ‘The Spirit of Dunbar’ and at the same time support our local businesses as we emerge from lockdown.”

The annual celebration will be on June 12-19 and feature a number of competitions.

This year’s event is on the theme of ‘The Spirit of Dunbar’, with residents urged to be creative and mark out what makes the town special.

Among competitions planned are: best dressed scarecrow; best dressed house; and best dressed window.

A £100 prize, in the form of vouchers for a local business, will go to the winner in each category, with £50 for second place and £25 for third.

Plans are also being drawn up for a treasure hunt especially for youngsters, who will be challenged to seek out and identify particular items in the windows of High Street shops.

Eileen Moore is pulling together the competition programme and anyone looking to get involved should email dunbarcivicweek@outlook.com. For more information, go to dunbarcivicweek.org.uk