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The Blue Light Festival returns to the Riverside Museum this weekend!

Scotland’s largest gathering of emergency service vehicles will take place at the Blue Light Festival at Riverside Museum this weekend!

Article Source: Glasgow Museums
Last Updated: 14 September 2016 12:59

Following the outstanding success of last year’s event, which attracted record visitor numbers of over 20,000 people across one weekend, the museum has expanded the offer with more vehicles and emergency services attending and the introduction of a new, free kids zone.

From 11am on Saturday and Sunday representatives from all of Scotland’s Emergency Services will come together at Riverside Museum to be part of the second Blue Light Festival, the biggest display of its kind in Scotland.

With more than 60 different vehicles attending, visitors to this free family event can discover more about the work front-line services do – or simply delight in sounding the siren. Climb aboard the bikes, cars, trucks, engines and boats and discover the equipment used by those people who keep us safe. There will also be the opportunity meet some of the highly trained staff that deal with a wide range of emergencies across the country.

Councillor Archie Graham, Chair of Glasgow Life, said; “Riverside is already renowned for delighting visitors with some of the world’s finest cars, bikes, ship models and trams. This weekend we’re celebrating some of the most hard-working vehicles in Scotland, those which belong to the emergency services together with the brave people who work aboard them, keeping us safe.”

The popularity of last year’s ‘Blue Light’ event, which welcomed the largest number of visitors to Riverside in one weekend since it opened in 2011, prompted organisers to expand this year’s event and invite more emergency services to take part. There will also be a FREE kid’s zone, complete with fairground rides, inflatable slides, bouncy castles, face-painting and craft activities. The Summer Beach at Riverside will remain in place throughout the weekend.

The Scottish Ambulance Service, Police Scotland, Water Rescue, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Heritage Trust, Royal National Lifeboat Institution, Vintage Albion Black Maria, International Fire and Rescue, NHS Motorcycle Response Team, ScotsERVS Transport Team, Police Scotland Riverside Cycle Team and Mountain Rescue and others will all be present.

Also on show will be an impressive selection of vintage vehicles from the Museum’s own collection. The fire engine collection at Glasgow Museums is the second largest in Scotland and includes a 1928 Albion-Merryweather Pump Ladder, whose chasis was built in Albion Motors, Glasgow, a 1940 Dennis-Merryweather Turntable Ladder that was stationed at Govan fire station during WW2 and a Leyland Firemaster Pump Escape which was previously stationed a stone’s throw from Riverside Museum in Partick Fire Station.

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