MORE than 20 community projects bid for a share of £10,000 funding at New Cumnock town hall at the weekend.

The venue was packed to capacity on Sunday, March 19, for the Afton Awards presentations.

A total of 23 groups each gave a presentation on why they should get cash for the various local projects they were involved with.

Organisers were pleased that there was a good spread of projects from across the community.

They ranged not only in variety but in the ages of those speaking.

Youngest of the contenders were the Scouts and the Boys Brigade members who bid for items of equipment.

Meanwhile a resident of Afton Court Sheltered Housing Complex, who was in her nineties, made an appeal for funds to help finance landscape gardening at their centre.

After the presentations and while the votes were being counted the audience were entertained to a musical interlude by Geoff Crolley of the Afton Music Club accompanied on the guitar by Rev. Helen Cuthbert.

Later a group from the New Cumnock Primary School enthralled the audience with songs and poetry.

Ian Harper, chairman of New Cumnock Community Action Plan Group who organised the event, said “This has been a very successful exercise not only in helping local groups get funding for their projects.

“But the presentations let the community at large see what was going on in their area and the tremendous effort that people of all ages out in to make New Cumnock a vibrant place to live.

“Everyone taking part today, in whatever way, can be very proud of New Cumnock”.