THOUSANDS lined the streets of Dunfermline's town centre for the 2017 Children's Gala on Saturday.

As the oldest gala in Scotland the event got a lot of attention from tourists with some folks from as far away as America enjoying the spectacle.

There were some great costumes in the crowd and everyone was quite amused when the 'hungry caterpillar' – this year's gala had a popular books theme – actually looked like it was about to gobble a few spectators up!

Ruth Young, chairperson of the Dunfermline Children's Gala committee, said: "The wind was a bit temperamental on Saturday and at one point we wondered if the caterpillar was going to make it! It was certainly one of the highlights of the parade though, along with the stick man, who seemed to get a lot of attention too.

"The big thing for us though was just to see all the smiling faces on the day along with other people in the community who come and watch every year. We've had lots of great feedback from the town about the entertainers and we were particularly impressed that Thing One and Thing Two managed to even get the boys dancing."

This year's gala theme was filled with literary characters and parents and children alike pushed the boat out with their costume designs. Many schools were clearly competing to see who was the loudest too!

Ruth continued: "We were also pleased that the BFG made it down the parade in one piece and the Cat in the Hat had everyone laughing with their joking around.

"There so many people that we have to thank including the Fife Cadets, the Vine Church, Dunfermline High School and all the the primary schools and parents, especially the gala reps.

"Our sponsors include TechnipFMC, SignPlus, and Lloyds Banking group. We have to raise about £50,000 a year to pull this off so their financial help is really appreciated.

"I would like to thank our patrons too, Lady Elgin and Provost Jim Leishman, along with all the executive committee who work tirelessly all year. People don't realise that this could not happen without them."

The gala felt even more community-spirited this year as just weeks before, Commercial Primary School discovered all their gala equipment had been stolen. However, members of the public and generous local businesses stepped up and helped the school get on their way with money that will keep their gala day funded for years to come.

Ruth added: "It was lovely to see the community get around Commercial and help them out. They had a brilliant day.

"It is a huge endeavour so we will give ourselves a few days rest then it's on to planning next year! We have a good idea what next year's theme will be but it hasn't been confirmed yet so stay tuned!"