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November 2020 monthly update

Strontian Outdoor Christmas Fair & Lights Switch On – 28th November.

With all the constraints of Covid19 and the threat of lockdowns we thought we would try and organise at least one community event before Christmas – a socially distanced outdoor Christmas Fair! Oakwood Tourism & Crafts has been open since July and thanks our fantastic band of volunteers we have managed to safely greet this summers visitors and to sell a lot of locally made gifts but we would love to sell more.

Please watch out on Facebook and at the shop for news of our Christmas opening hours, but in the meantime put a date in your diary. Weather and Scottish Government guidelines permitting, we will hold an open air Christmas Craft Market from 5pm to 8pm outside Oakwood, the Woodland Pottery and Strontian Stores on Saturday 28th November.

Stalls and gazebos will be spaced several meters apart; hand-sanitizer stations and a one-way system will be in place for your safety.
At 7pm the Sunart Community Council will arrange for the Christmas Tree Lights Switch-on.
So please come along and support local producers and SHOP LOCAL THIS CHRISTMAS.

Private shopping. – As previously reported we continue to offer ‘out of ours’ shopping for anyone shielding who does not want to shop during opening hours.

Stallholders – Due to social distancing requirements we will require all stallholders to be ‘self-sufficient’ in terms of a gazebo, lighting and staffing so there is no charge per stall. If you would like to have a stall, please contact Jane Mellis to receive a booking form and arrange a ‘pitch’. First come first served!

Silent Christmas Auction – Please Support, Donate and Bid!

This year the community company will lose an estimated £3,000 due to Covid related restrictions on fundraising so we need to think big!

You can help by offering to donate items for the auction even if you’ve already done your Christmas shopping! This could be anything from home made Christmas cake or preserves or home brew, locally reared lamb, beef or mince, a days stalking or salmon fishing, a days labouring on a garden or painting or decorating, a week in a holiday home/campsite/time-share -anything goes!

As we are unable to hold an indoor charity auction in the village hall, this year all our beautiful donated items, (or pictures of them) will be on display at Oakwood for a fortnight before the 28th Nov Fair and listed online on the Oakwood and SCC Facebook sites.

You will be able to place a bid for one of the many delicious locally made Christmas cakes, sweets, mince pies, venison packs, restaurant vouchers by calling in to Oakwood and dropping off a sealed bid, or by emailing fundraise@sunartcommunitycompany.co.uk with the Lot Number and a Bid. Keep an eye on our events page for more information on the items and how you can bid for them.

Who knows – this could be the best Christmas Auction ever as it will be held online and could see many people bidding, so don’t miss out!

Jetty & Green Shed Refurbishment – Want to Lend a Hand?

James Hilder, our Treasurer, is delighted to announce that he has secured over £4,000 towards the cost of refurbishing the green shed at the Jetty. This will need repairs to the tin roof, new door, changing cubicles, lockers, a window to look out across the moorings and some seating. This will give open water swimmers, kayakers and canoeists somewhere to change or family members to sit and watch in the shelter! The money is mainly for materials so we would love to hear from anyone willing to lend a hand with joinery, painting the outside, laying concrete etc. Rather than organizing work parties – to maintain social distancing we will aim to take things a section at a time – however… we need to complete by the end of March. Please get in touch if you can help.

Whilst talking of volunteers a big shout goes out to Richard Livett for helping move some boulders on the beach to create a ‘berth’ for the moorings raft, and to Jeremy for helping move and refurbish some moorings!)

We have some new members of the Moorings Association and we look forward to seeing their boats out on the water next year. Anyone else wishing to drop a mooring down near the jetty should get in touch to arrange a location.

We will be sending out requests for donations for the upkeep of the jetty and slip soon because even though CV19 has kept many folk off the water this year – we still have costs!

Project Officer and Admin Vacancy

We are delighted that Wendy Wilson has been commissioned to provide bookkeeping services and at long last help us get our accounts onto an appropriate software package. Wendy will take over in the new financial year, but we will retain RA Clement Associates as our auditors.

The Community Company is still looking for a part time administrator/project officer to help with the paperwork and with fundraising and project delivery. For an application pack please get in touch.

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