Stewartry Young Farmers party hard during their 90th year

The club was originally founded back in 1933 and to mark the 90th year milestone, 47 members past and present gathered to the stage in Castle Douglas Town Hall to preform ‘Through the Decades’.

Stewartry YF celebrated their 90th anniversary year

The variety concert was a sell-out as members combined singing and dancing to tracks dating from the 1930’s all the way to current songs, plus choir singing and comedy sketches, whilst reliving past animations along the way.

Club secretary Abby Forsyth highlighted: “One sketch that proved particularly popular with the audience was set in Wallets Mart canteen.”

The concert was made evermore special as this was the first concert since 2019 due to COVID-19 which prevented members of the club from getting together.

However, cast members were raring to get going this year with concert practises running from September and becoming as frequent as three times a week following Christmas, to ensure a streamlined performance over the two nights for the 340 spectators who attended including many friends and family.

Helping the cast members put on an entertaining show were producers, sketch co-ordinator Donald Armstrong, musical producer and pianist Kathleen Picken, plus choreographers Abby Forsyth, Sophie Kirkwood, and Jane Davidson. Cast members Katy Smith, Fraser Cruickshanks, Lisa Cruickshanks, and James Ward also worked together to create props and scenery.

A popular sketch included Wallets Mart canteen

Abby explained: “We were delighted with the success of the concert. The energy from the audience really helped the nerves of a particularly young cast, with very few experiencing concerts before.

“It was brilliant to be back on stage and I think everyone enjoyed putting on a great show, with the comments received since being fantastic and inspiring the next generation of members.”

The concert concluded with a dance on Saturday night, allowing the cast members to let their hair down.