I love Dundee – it’s so well-meaning, and still, unfailingly, a bit crap.
I say that with utmost affection for my adopted city. I’ve lived in the ‘not crap’ ones and they don’t hold a candle to this place.
It’s got a sense of humour about itself that I’ll never tire of.
Same goes for the city’s slightly wonky, still wonderful Winterfest.
It’s still a little rough around the edges but I’m absolutely buzzing to see the fledgling festival back at Slessor Gardens for its second year after launching in 2021.
Last year my friends and I fully embraced the fun of a Christmas market right down the road.
Cutting out the cost of transport meant we were able to justify multiple visits – and multiple delicious mulled wines – over the festive season.
The city centre location makes Winterfest the perfect spot for an after-work wander, and wander we did.
One visit was spent entirely in the cute little ‘bar’ area, which has charmingly attempted a log-cabin look and achieved something like a panto backdrop from Jack and the Beanstalk.
A guy with a guitar was playing live music, and we whiled away a lovely few hours listening to him play – and because of the nifty insultation, we didn’t freeze.
Another night we ventured up the 100ft Big Wheel – my first time ever, as a lifelong acrophobic.
It was a spectacular view… of nothing much.
The V&A was right there, so it wasn’t exactly strong silhouette material. And then there was the Law, of course, and Cox’s Stack.
But Dundee’s a fairly humble place – it doesn’t unfurl when viewed from above, like a red carpet of undiscovered wonders.
It just sort of…is. Windows winking in houses. Shops and roads. A nice steeple.
And when I saw that, at first, I was a little bit disappointed.
Dundee Winterfest isn’t fancy, but it’s fun
What was the point of going on a Big Wheel if the view was no different to the one from the ground? If I wasn’t taken aback by a huge sprawling metropolis?
But the longer I looked, the more I realised that this is what makes Dundee so good. It’s not trying to compete – it’s just trying to show what it’s got.
And we can all take it or leave it.
Remembering that, I realised why it annoys me so much to hear folk comparing Winterfest to Edinburgh Christmas Market – which is, objectively, the best one.
“It’s not like Edinburgh,” I’ve heard over and over as folk deliver their verdict on Winterfest.
And it isn’t. But neither is Dundee.
It’s much smaller, for starters. There’s probably fewer high-end goods on offer, and it doesn’t have as much money.
Winterfest may not have antique merry-go-rounds with beautiful, demonic-looking painted horses, or authentic German schnitzel or a special Baileys hot chocolate stand (with Instagram wall, for #influencer types).
Just like Dundee doesn’t have the National Museum, a castle or the Scott Monument. Cosmopolitan grandeur just isn’t the MO.
What we do have is the glistening Tay, a big weird whale, an ancient boat and Desperate Dan.
Likewise, our Winterfest has a nice square layout which means you don’t get buffeted along in a tram-line of eager merry-makers.
It’s got gaudy Santa figurines and really good donuts.
It has rides for the wee ones and ice skating for the slightly bigger ones, food and drink at prices that don’t make your eyes water, and a great big wheel that looks on to everything we’ve got – which isn’t much, but it’s lovely.
So lovely that I might go on it again on this year’s second visit, despite my fear of heights.
Just to look at it all again and feel proud.
I’d encourage everyone else to go along too. The festival is still young, and needs local support to ensure it gets bigger, better and more polished – which is what people seem to want.
And who knows, if we top the boost of £2.6M to the city’s economy in 2021, then by next year we might have that Baileys hot chocolate after all.
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