Port Seton Box Meeting returns for first time in five years

The event is organised by The Friendly Society of Fishermen of Cockenzie and Port Seton and takes place every five years.

The society was founded more than 200 years ago to provide a fund to help widows of local fishermen lost at sea.

The Box Meeting was also traditionally the fishermen’s only guaranteed annual holiday.

The event, disbanded in 1973, was revived in 2013 for its bicentenary, thanks to the hard work of Port Seton Harbour Commissioner chair Archie Johnston.

The celebrations take place this Saturday and Sunday, with the event kicking off with a ceilidh tomorrow (Friday) night.

The Box Meeting Parade route

On Saturday, a parade will take place in the village, starting at Port Seton Harbour at 1.30pm.

It makes its way along Links Road, before turning right onto Fishers Road. The parade then moves onto South Seton Park before making its way up Osborne Terrace.

It then heads west along Edinburgh Road and turns onto West Harbour Road and then along Cockenzie High Street.

Dancing will take place outside The Thorntree Inn from about 2.15pm until 3.15pm. The parade then continues past Elcho Place, along Wemyss Place and View Forth, before returning to Port Seton Harbour.

Mr Johnston told the Courier he was excited to see the celebrations return.

He said: “We are really looking forward to it, and we are expecting a big crowd.

“I think it is very important to the community – there are still some fishermen in the village and I like them to have something to look forward to.

“This was something that was handed down to us by our forefathers in Cockenzie and Port Seton.”

Archie stressed that holding the event every five years gave the community something to look forward to and made it “a bit extra special”.

He added: “We are a fishing village and we are proud that we are a fishing village.”