COUNCILLORS are to be asked to axe a controversial move to change the name of a long-standing Ayr family event.
The local authority announced in May that the Holy Fair would henceforth be known as the ‘Summer Family Fest with Armed Forces and Pipes in the Park’.
The first such event under the new name is due to take place on the Low Green this Saturday, June 22.
But one Ayr councillor has demanded that the old name is brought back – saying the change was made by South Ayrshire Council officials without asking either councillors or the wider public.
The event in Ayr dates back more than 30 years, though it owes its name to a 1785 poem by Robert Burns in which he looked at how the original ‘holy fairs’ – events consisting of preaching and prayer meetings over several days leading to Holy Communion in a local parish – had, in the words of the Burns Birthplace Blog, “deteriorated into a mixture of propriety and merriment”.
In more recent years the Ayr event has combined the family attractions of the Holy Fair with the annual Armed Forces Day commemoration, as well as the music of ‘Pipes in the Park’.
But a bid to bring back the old name will go before a meeting of South Ayrshire Council today (Friday, June 21).
Ayr East councillor Chris Cullen, who was elected under the SNP banner but now represents the Alba Party, wants to see the Holy Fair name brought back for future events.
His motion asking for a U-turn on the name change has been backed by independent Prestwick councillor Hugh Hunter.
Cllr Cullen’s motion states: “After over 30 years of success the historical Ayr Holy Fair was dropped from the council's events programme, with no consultation having taken place with elected members or the general public.
“What was a renowned traditional family event that attracted thousands to the town, has been unceremoniously dropped.
“While the longstanding event may have been replaced by the Summer Family Festival, this in no way conveys the history and tradition of the event.
"Council requests the chief executive to reverse the name change and bring back the historic Holy Fair to the Low Green for future years."
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