Longniddry Gala this year is set to be one of the biggest in the event’s history, as it also welcomes residents of nearby Blindwells.

And gala committee members said that new sponsorship had made “a huge difference” in the planning of the event.

Gala day is set to take place on June 17, with a number of activities held at Longniddry Park.

Sarah Dannfald, committee member, said that planning for the gala had been a huge task this year.

She said: “Planning for this year’s gala is going well.

“We were a brand-new committee last year so it has been a big learning curve, but we have learnt so much from our first gala experience in 2022 and are making lots of positive changes for 2023.

“So far we have had our Hallowe’en disco, Valentine’s disco and an Easter trail to raise funds for the gala.

“For the first time, we have acquired sponsorship from some amazing local businesses and this has gone a long way to take the pressure off our fundraising events, as we know times are tough for everyone at the moment and it means we are able to keep our costs at these events as low as possible.

“We have seen a lot of our costs increasing generally so the £3,000 in sponsorship has made a huge difference and we are so grateful.”

Sponsorship has come from businesses including Reywood Construction, Hard Graft Garden Services and Longniddry Village Shop, while East Coast Dog Training, LAB/04 Architects, Wheatrig Business Hub and Wemyss and March Estate have all offered sponsorship of various events on the day.

Longniddry Gala will also cater for the new developments at Blindwells and Sarah said that extra work was required to plan this year’s gala due to both Longniddry’s increasing population and the inclusion of Blindwells residents.

She said: “This year we have seen Longniddry grow significantly, with more residents moving into Longniddry South.

“We also currently include Blindwells in our gala and we are so thrilled that we are able to provide gala events for even more of our neighbours and are excited to see everyone enjoying themselves in our expanding community.

“This increase in our reach means that we need to raise even more money than ever as we need to be able to accommodate more people.”

This year’s gala theme is ‘Safari – Take a Walk on the Wild Side’, which will be incorporated throughout the event.

Residents will be encouraged to enter a window display competition and there will be many safari-themed stalls at the gala, alongside a petting zoo.

The safari theme will continue into the gala parade, which starts at the green off Charteris Road and ends in Longniddry Park.

An evening dance for adults will also be held in the marquee, with a live band (£10 a ticket and BYOB).