The Ballater Winter Festival is returning in 2025!

The elves are thrilled to announce the Ballater Winter Festival will be going ahead in 2025 and will take place on Saturday 29th November, 2025.

We are planning:

· An indoor Santa’s grotto experience including crafts, games, movie, tattoos (in the Mike Sheridan Room & Albert Hall, V&A Halls) (10am-4pm)

· An outside children's play area with free wooden children's games (beanbag toss, hoops, noughts & crosses etc) (in the courtyard area outside the V&A Halls) (10am-4pm)

· Local primary school choirs singing at various times throughout the day (in the courtyard area outside the V&A Halls)

· An indoor craft fayre, with 24 stalls (in the Victoria Hall, V&A Halls) (10am-4pm)

· An outdoor Christmas market on the greens, including 40+ craft stalls and circa 6 hot food vendors (10am-3pm)

· The Cairngorm Reindeer are returning! (on the green) (12noon-3pm)

· Children’s amusement rides (on the green) (10am-3pm)

· We’re hoping the tractors and fire engine will also be returning (next to green) (10am-3pm)

Access to set up your stall will start at 07:30, trading will start at 10:00.

The indoor craft fayre will close at 16:00 and the outside market will close 15:00 (this is following feedback from last year).

Outside

An outside pitch is charged at £30 for each 4m x 4m pitch, with an additional £5 for each extra 1m x 4m strip required.

We are offering 4m x 4m pitches on the greens in the village (gazebos of size circa 3m x 3m, the 4m square needs to include any ties/guy ropes etc). Please note, no gazebo/tent or tables will be provided, it is entirely up to each stallholder to provide these.  Should you require a bigger pitch than the standard 4m x 4m, please ensure you request this below, giving maximum dimensions and preferably a photo of your gazebo/tent/unit so that we can ensure that we allocate you the appropriate pitch and avoid issues with your neighbours!

Inside

The charge for an inside space is £40.

We will provide a table (village hall style – 698mm (H) x 1830mm (W) x 685mm (D)) and chair in the Victoria Hall.  Please provide your own table covering and decorations.  Due to the nature of the event, tables will be quite close together and thus there will be no room for additional displays beside tables, and any pop up banners will need to be displayed behind tables.  Please note that indoor space is limited and is subject to availability.

Hot Food Vendors

Hot food vendors will be placed on the village greens within the Christmas Market with pitches charged at £60.

Please state what you will be attending with i.e. trailer/gazebo and how much space is required.

Selling Alcohol

Any stallholders wishing to sell pre-packaged alcohol must apply for their own licence at least 6 weeks prior to 29th Nov, 2025.

Charity Stalls

We are offering a limited number of pitches to charity/community stalls at a discounted rate.

Electric

Electricity will be available to inside stalls free of charge.  Electricity will be available to outdoor stalls at a rate of £10 for the day.

Cancellation Policy

We have had to implement a cancellation policy for the Festival but we do understand that things can happen out-with your control so we have kept it as fair as possible.

Please see conditions below :

· More than 6 weeks before the date of festival - 100% refund.

· 5-6 weeks prior - 50% refund.

· 4 weeks or less - no refund will be issued.

In all cases, we will try to re-fill any cancelled pitches/tables. In successful cases, a full refund will be given.

How to Book

If you would like to join our Winter Festival by having a stall this year, please complete the form below, return it by email and pay the appropriate amount by internet banking.  Your booking is not confirmed until both booking form and payment have been received. Please state your preference of location and we will do our best to accommodate.  All information provided will be only used by the Ballater Winter Festival committee and will not be shared with any external parties (except for Aberdeenshire Council, who require a list of all stallholders prior to the event, to comply with our market license requirements).

For photos of our previous festivals please see www.facebook.com/BallaterWinterFestival/photos_by

Thank you for supporting the Ballater Winter Festival, the village greatly appreciates your participation.