Port Glasgow Comet Festival 2025

The Port Glasgow Comet Festival 2025 will take place on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd June.

Two-day Comet Festival to mark Port Glasgow 250

A host of fun, family-friendly events have been put together for this year’s bumper Comet Festival.

The annual free event in Coronation Park has been extended to two-days this year to celebrate Port Glasgow’s 250^th anniversary in 2025.

Taking place over June 21 and 22, the festival will feature a 10k run, a funfair, live music, community stalls, Pictures in the Park and much more!

The event will begin with a parade at 11.30am on Saturday morning, led by samba band Bloco Winnoch in front of a procession of floats, through the town to Coronation Park for the festival to start at 12noon.

The park itself will have many of the attractions enjoyed every year at the Comet Festival including an entertainment zone with lots of culture, heritage and art to enjoy, traders, community group marquees, a funfair, tea tent, bar and beer garden, live music stage, boat trips, guided walking tours and more.

Saturday’s event finishes at 6pm but everyone is invited back to the park for Sunday’s events, including the return of the Port Glasgow 10k. The race starts at 11am and leaves from and finishes in Coronation Park. Anyone interested can sign up by clicking here.

The Port Glasgow 10k was first run in 2018 and is open to anyone aged over 15 years old on the day of the race. The route this year takes place along the foreshore of the Clyde taking in Kingston Dock and Kelburn Park.

The cost of entry is £10 generally with eligible pupils of Port Glasgow High School and St Stephen’s High School able to enter for a reduced price of £5. Each finisher will get a special medal which contains the Port Glasgow 250 logo, with trophies for fastest male and female runners.

Sunday will also feature football coaching for young people, a Praise in the Park service and Pictures in the Park with three films being shown outside on the big screen. After a public vote, the three winning films are: Moana 2, Wicked Sing-a-long and Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Other Sunday entertainment is still being confirmed so watch this space!

Inverclyde Council works with the Comet Festival committee to shape and organise the event.

Provost Drew McKenzie said: “The Comet Festival is always a great day for the community of Port Glasgow and this year promises to be even bigger and better as the town celebrates its 250^th anniversary.

“There is lots on for people of all ages to take part in and enjoy. Coronation Park is a great location and the festival is always well supported by the town.

“My thanks to everyone involved who’s worked so hard to put together this fun, free event.”

The origins of Port Glasgow date back to the late sixteenth century when the authorities in Glasgow purchased land by the village of Newark to establish a port for the city.

In 1710, the principal custom house on the River Clyde was constituted at the Port of Glasgow.

The settlement around the port grew quickly and soon absorbed the fishing village of Newark.

Newark was a burgh of barony belonging to Hamilton of Wishaw, while Port Glasgow remained under the municipal authority of the City of Glasgow.

Recognising the complexities of this arrangement, an act of parliament was passed in 1775 establishing Port Glasgow as a burgh in its own right.

The Port Glasgow (Improvement) Act 1775 defined the burgh’s municipal responsibilities and its authority to raise duty.

The Act was passed on 22 May 1775 and Port Glasgow was born.

For the latest on all the Port Glasgow 250 activities, check out the Discover Inverclyde website.

As part of the Comet Festival, there will be FREE entry to Newark Castle on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 June (Donations are warmly welcomed)!

On Saturday, head to Newark Castle to take part in activities including carving, interactive family activities like colouring sheets, shield making, a giant historic game of ‘snakes and ladders’, and skittles. Storyteller, Allison Galbraith, will also be there to entertain visitors with tales in the great hall.

Over at Coronation Park on Saturday, explore drop-in activities linked to the Defending Scotland’s Heritage programme which focuses on how Scotland can protect its heritage in today’s modern world.

You don’t want to miss out.

A fantastic line-up of free, fun, family friendly events has been put together for this year’s specially extended Comet Festival.

The event will take place on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 June at Coronation Park, Port Glasgow.

It has been extended to two-days this year to celebrate Port Glasgow’s 250^th anniversary.

The event will begin with a parade at 11.30am on Saturday morning, led by samba band Bloco Winnoch in front of a procession of floats, through the town to Coronation Park where the festival will start at 12noon.

The park itself will have many of the attractions enjoyed every year at the Comet Festival including a funfair all weekend, a tea tent and bar and beer garden.

Cultural services have created a Port Glasgow Dungeons & Dragons game with sessions on Saturday. There will also be a poetry workshop and walking tours.

Historic Environment Scotland are offering free entry to nearby Newark Castle on the Saturday and Sunday and Archaeology Scotland will be on site with an excavatable shipwreck model for kids to explore.

New Port Theatre Company is running theatre workshops, New Port Church will have children’s arts and crafts, the Scouts will have soft axe throwing and Rope, Spoke & Paddle will be letting children make some smores treats.

Beacon Arts Centre will offer come-and-try circus skills while football daft boys and girls will take part in a popular football tournament.

A live music stage will keep the crowds entertained all day while there is a host of community stalls and traders to browse. Sea Cadets will be running popular boat trips on the Clyde.

On Sunday, the Port Glasgow 10k makes a welcome return to the park at 11am, there will be football training for youngsters and a Praise in the Park service coordinated run by the Salvation Army from 2.30pm to 3.30pm.

Pictures in the Park will have three films showing on a large outdoor screen: Moana 2 from 1pm till 2.40pm; Sonic 3 from 3pm till 4.50pm and a Wicked Sing-a-long from 5.10pm till 7.50pm. Screenings are free.

Provost Drew McKenzie said: “The Comet Festival is always a fantastic event for the community of Port Glasgow and this year will be even better.

“This is a fantastic line-up of events and activities for people of all ages and interests to enjoy. Entry to the park is free on both days so I would urge people to make a weekend of it and take it all in.

“This is a special year for Port Glasgow with the 250^th anniversary and this year’s Comet Festival really celebrates that.”

The origins of Port Glasgow date back to the late sixteenth century when the authorities in Glasgow purchased land by the village of Newark to establish a port for the city.

The Port Glasgow (Improvement) Act 1775 defined the burgh’s municipal responsibilities and its authority to raise duty.

The Act was passed on 22 May 1775 and Port Glasgow was born.

For the latest on all the Port Glasgow 250 activities, check out the Discover Inverclyde website.

Storytelling with J.L. Givens, Children’s Author, The Witch & The Snitch https://discoverinverclyde.com/whats-on/events/storytelling-with-j-l-givens-childrens-author-the-witch-the-snitch/