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Nithraid 2017

Nithraid 2017

2017 was the fifth year of our now annual river festival Nithraid, which sees sailing boats race upriver into the town centre on the highest tide of the year. The race finish line is below the caul in the centre of Dumfries, where the Salty Coo awaits the arrival of the boats from the centre of the river Nith.


This years Salty Coo Procession was led by performance clowning collective MooCoo formed by emerging artists Leo Marsh, Jimmy Russell and Agnė Zdanavičiūtė, including a Viking-Clown stand off in the town centre.

Nithraid 2017 had a Scandinavian and Viking theme, led by Wordsmithscrafts and the Galloway Londfhada Vikings and featured a Viking encampment beside the river alongside our Nithraid village of food, family activities and displays from local and regional arts and cultural projects.


This year the Nithraid Acoustic Stage was designed, built and curated by blueprint100, with support from Associate Artist and Maker John Kingston. Local acts performing throughout the afternoon included Stoney Broke, Kate Kyle and Colin Jones.

Due to very challenging weather conditions in the run up to this years Nithraid, the boats sailed competitively as far as Glencaple, and were then supported by the safety boats up into the centre of town against torrential currents and poor winds.

Nithraid carried on into the evening for the first time during 2017, as part of our riverside village on the Mill Green.

The Nithraid Watershed featured:

Live music from jazz pianist Fraser Clark and musician-composer Stuart MacPhearson

Projections and short films from Reel to Real

Fireside conversations and Swedish candles lighting the river’s Edge into the evening

More about Nithraid available here

Photographs taken by and with thanks to Jamie Thomson, Kirstin McEwan and Galina Walls.

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