Queen Sophie’s Final Message

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Hi everyone,

My time has come to hang up my cloak and hand over my crown to our new Queen Elect Holly. My reign as Queen has gone by in the blink of an eye. What an absolutely amazing year I’ve had, there are no words to explain how truly grateful I am to have been chosen as your 117th Bo’ness Fair Queen, I will cherish these memories for the rest of my life.

Thank you to the whole of the fair committee for being absolutely amazing, I have loved getting to know you all, and will have a special place for you all in my heart. My family and I have loved our time with you all.

I would like to thank my dad for yet again producing the most amazing special arch for me, he brought our visions to life. There is so much hard work that goes into them. Thank you so much to my family for everything, especially my mum, sister, nana, grandad and great gran Janet, I’m the luckiest girl to have you all by my side, treating me like a proper Queen.

Alice has given me the most beautiful dresses and I can’t wait to wear my new one tomorrow. Thank you so much Alice. Thank you to Mrs Heather Cullen for being by my side always. We had a bond before but is a truly special one now, and you mean so much more to me now.

I would like to thank my Chief lady Lucy for being with me through my whole experience, I don’t know what I’d have done without you, to helping me with speeches, to speaking on the mics for me. I’ve loved doing this together with you. Our whole retinue has been the best, and I’ve loved doing it with you all. We are all still the best of friends and I hope we are friends forever.

Thank you to the whole of Bo’ness, I love you all so much. Thank you for being so kind and generous with cards and gifts etc. Thank you to my very special Kinneil parent council, you guys are honestly the best, always going above and beyond for me and my family. Love you guys so much.

I hope the sun shines for the Grange tomorrow, and everyone has the most amazing fair day. Sending all my love and support to Queen Elect Holly and her retinue.

Bring on the best day of the year.

Hail To Our Queen Holly.

Hip Hip, all my love, Queen Sophie XxX

Celebrating School Success

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Road Closures 2026

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Weather and Collection Arrangements 2026

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1. When the Weather Is Fine

All pupils and Banner Parties will be dismissed from their designated school areas on Dean Road, between the traffic lights and the entrance to St Mary’s Church.

Fairies, Flower Girls and Guards will also be collected from the same designated
areas.

Lunch arrangements:

  • Presentees: Kinneil Primary School
  • Retinue:St Mary’s Church Hall

Afternoon arrangements:

Presentees: Collected from the Douglas Park Marquee between 2.30–3.30pm
Retinue: An adult must remain in Douglas Park for the full afternoon performance. Children will be dismissed around 4.15pm from the Marquee. Guards of Honour may be collected earlier.

ALL CHILDREN MUST BE COLLECTED WITHIN 15 MINUTES OF THE END OF THEIR DAY.

Any child not collected will be taken to the Missing Child area, and procedures will be followed with advice and guidance from Police and Children’s Services.

2. If the Weather Breaks Before Proceedings Begin

  • All school pupils remain in their schools.
  • Retinue, Fairies, Flower Girls, Presentees, Guards, Banner Parties and school stewards will be transported by bus to the Town Hall for the Crowning
    Ceremony.
  • Attendance is limited to Retinue parents and Invited Guests only due to capacity.

No other parents, family members or members of the public can attend.

3. If the Weather Breaks During the Coronation Ceremony

  • Grange Retinue, Presentees, Fairies, Flower Girls, Guards and Banner Parties will continue the Crowning in the Town Hall.
  • All school pupils will return to their schools with staff.
  • Attendance again limited to Retinue parents and Invited Guests.
  • The Procession will still go ahead, with support such as trailers, ponchos and umbrellas.

Lunch arrangements remain:

  • Presentees: Kinneil Primary School
  • Retinue: St Mary’s Church Hall

Collection for Fairies, Flower Girls, Guards, Presentees and Banner Parties will take place at their designated school areas on Dean Road.

4. Afternoon Royal Command Performance

Weather Fine or Slightly/Moderately Wet

Proceedings continue as normal.

  • Retinue & Presentees: Collected from the Douglas Park Marquee.

Weather Extremely Inclement

The afternoon performance will be cancelled.

  • Retinue: Collected from St Mary’s Church at 2.30pm
  • Presentees: Collected from Kinneil Primary School at 2.30pm

Programme Sale 2026

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Your Ultimate Guide to the 2026 Bo’ness Fair Day!

The countdown is officially on! To make sure you don’t miss a single beat of this year’s festivities, the Official 2026 Fair Programmeis officially available.

Queen Elect Holly, shown with the 2026 Bo'ness Fair Programme

Priced at £5, this is your essential handbook for all things Fair Day, from timings for the day, photos from last years Fair and events to the local stories that show why our Fair Day is so special. Picking up a copy doesn’t just keep you in the loop, it supports the hard work that goes into making the Fair happen every year.

Where to Grab Your Copy

Whether you’re doing your weekly shop or enjoying a stroll through town, you can find our programme at various locations across Bo’ness.

Area Stockists
Town Centre Tesco KIiosk, Visage Beauty (North Street), With Love, Vikki x (Market Street), Branches Gift Shop (Market Square), Inkspot & Silverleaf Booksellers (South Street), The Wee Wine Bar (South Street), Sweets ‘n’ Things (Hope Street)
Corbiehall & Grangepans The Corbie Inn, Talking Heads, Grangepans Mini Mart
The Drum & Hillcrest David’s Kitchen Ltd, Premier Store
Newtown, Maidenpark and Kinneil Baker St. Post Office, Spar (Jamieson Avenue), Morrisons (Dean Road), Fiaz’s (Gilburn Place)

Why Buy a Programme?

Aside from being a great souvenir, the programme includes:

  • Full timings for the Fair Day events.

  • Maps and procession routes.

  • Behind-the-scenes insights and community stories.

Make sure you’re ready for the “Best Day of the Year.” Grab your copy today and let the Mardi Gras celebrations begin!