Scott Dawson Advertising has been awarded the tenders by Hyndburn Borough Council to manage some of Hyndburn’s most anticipated events in 2026, including the Accrington Food & Drink Festival, the #AmazingAccrington Soapbox Challenge, the Accrington Christmas Lights Switch On and the Great Harwood Christmas Extravaganza.

Following the outstanding success of these events in 2025, which drew tens of thousands of visitors to Accrington and Great Harwood, full-service advertising and marketing agency Scott Dawson Advertising is returning with ambitious plans to make 2026 even bigger and better.

Cllr Kimberley Whitehead, Deputy Leader of Hyndburn Borough Council, said: “We are so excited for the events lined up in 2026, which we are proud to be sponsoring at Hyndburn Borough Council. Scott Dawson Advertising always does an amazing job, and we can’t wait to see what they have planned this year.”

The events kick off on Saturday 6th June in Accrington town centre with the Accrington Food & Drink Festival, combined with the popular D-Day Commemoration, which is being sponsored by the Mercure Dunkenhalgh Hotel & Spa, alongside Hyndburn Borough Council.

Visitors can expect an array of new attractions including a vintage picnic area, a dedicated marquee celebrating Hyndburn’s food businesses and Lancashire produce, military static aeroplanes appearing for the first time, a strawberries and cream zone, cooking demonstrations including one from the Head Chef from the Dunkenhalgh, foodie competitions, vegan and vegetarian stalls and much more.

The #AmazingAccrington Soapbox Challenge returns on Saturday 29th August, promising a brand-new movies theme for 2026. New entertainment during the racing will include live music and a bumper-style car ride for children. 

Sponsored by Accrington & Rossendale College, students will focus on supporting two retail outlets with their carts.

The course will feature exciting Accrington-themed obstacles, and American-style vehicles will be on display for the perfect photo opportunity. With entertainment, a pit area, and plenty of family fun, the Soapbox Challenge is a must-attend highlight of the August Bank Holiday weekend.

As the festive season approaches, the Accrington Christmas Lights Switch On will take place on Thursday 26th November. Following last year’s incredible turnout for East 17, which attracted over 15,000 people, organisers are planning an even bigger celebration. 

Attendees can look forward to new street entertainment, enhanced facilities including a large-scale bar, and a spectacular line-up of acts building on the success of Junior Andre, Martin Kemp and East 17 in previous years.

The festive fun continues with the Great Harwood Christmas Extravaganza on Saturday 12th December, offering a magical day of Christmas markets, entertainment, craft workshops, and seasonal attractions. Highlights will include a special local champion competition, an Elf trail, a social media workshop for retailers and new for 2026 pop-ups encouraged within shops, plus much more.

For sponsorship enquiries for any of the events mentioned, businesses are encouraged to call or message the Scott Dawson Advertising events team on 07854 697876.

Stallholder applications will go live for the events in February – visit www.amazingaccrington.co.uk

Murray Dawson, Managing Director of Scott Dawson Advertising and Chair of the #AmazingAccrington business leaders group, said: “We are incredibly proud to have secured the tenders to run these fantastic events. Every year we want to deliver more and we raise the bar on attractions.

“Our team thrives on delivering a turnkey operation across multiple events, and we are thrilled about what we can deliver in 2026. Planning is well underway, and we can’t wait to reveal more exciting announcements in the coming months.”

You can keep up-to-date with the events by visiting www.amazingaccrington.co.uk

Hyndburn-based tech company, Sundown Solutions, and Burnley-based advertising and marketing agency, Scott Dawson Advertising, recently presented to over 240 children, aged from 4 to 13 years, at Stonyhurst St Mary’s Hall in Clitheroe about the opportunities available to them in the marketing and cyber industries.

The career’s talk, which took place on Monday 16^th May at one of the UK’s leading co-educational Catholic boarding and day schools, included discussions on the origins of the internet and how to get into the cyber industry, as well as the important role that marketing will play.

Both Sundown Solutions and Scott Dawson Advertising were invited to the school after a member of staff at Stonyhurst, Louise Chambers, came across a Facebook video of Sundown Solutions and fellow Hyndburn business, What More UK, attending All Saints’ CE Primary located in Clayton le Moors, organised by Scott Dawson Advertising and #AmazingAccrington.

Set in a magnificent Grade I listed building with a 1,000 acre estate right in the heart of Lancashire’s Ribble Valley, Sundown CEO Heath Groves and Scott Dawson MD Murray Dawson, fielded some fantastic questions from the onlooking pupils including what qualifications they would require to work in cyber or marketing.

Mr Groves said: “It’s not just about the children getting the qualifications that they need, but it’s about businesses like us coming into these schools and telling the children who we are, what we do and that we are available.

“The response from these children has been amazing. They asked some extremely intellectual and insightful questions and the future of cyber and marketing looks very bright in Lancashire.”

Mr Dawson commented: “It has been a real honour to be invited into such a wonderful establishment to raise awareness of what we do and the opportunities which will be available to our young people when they leave school including roles in videography and social media.

“The engagement from the children was outstanding, with a good response to the interactive questions and challenges from all age groups.”

Michael Gibson, Deputy Headmaster at Stonyhurst St Mary’s Hall, added: “We would like to say a massive thank you to Murray and to Heath for coming in and speaking to the school all about the world of marketing and tech.

“It was a really interesting assembly and we can’t thank Sundown Solutions and Scott Dawson Advertising enough for coming in.”

Sundown Solutions have been based in Hyndburn since 2003 and provide IT consultancy and management solutions around the world. You can learn more about them and what they do here: https://www.sundownsolutions.com/

Scott Dawson Advertising is a full service marketing and advertising agency based in Burnley, offering a wide range of services including social media, PR, creative design, artwork, direct mail, exhibitions and conferences, copywriting, photography, videography and much more. Head to their website to learn more: https://www.scottdawson.co.uk/

SELRAP, the action group campaigning to reinstate just 12 miles of rail track between Colne and Skipton, are building up to a major last push to get the project over the line. A new rail corridor will be transformational – forming the North’s fourth trans-Pennine link, supporting the levelling-up of the East Lancashire and wider Northern economy.

SELRAP have appointed Burnley’s Scott Dawson Advertising to create a campaign video, showing support for the campaign from leading figures across the North. This will help in gaining more public support, and show how much the relatively small project will bring in benefits to the North.

The reinstatement of the track will connect the Airedale line, a modern and fast train service running from Leeds, into East Lancashire. Two trains will be scheduled per hour, with a new station built at Earby and a replacement station built in Colne. This will bring the Colne-Leeds journey time down to just 50 minutes, with significant benefits for students, commuting, leisure and tourism opportunities in East Lancs and the Yorkshire Dales.

Freight is another significant benefit the project will bring to the region. Additional freight trains on this route will make this a strategic freight rail corridor from coast to coast, connecting Hull with Liverpool and routes inbetween. This will significantly reduce congestion pressure on the M62, and will have a great benefit on the environment. This project will also open up other future projects, such as the building of a strategically placed freight terminal at Huncoat.

Amber Corns, PR Director at Scott Dawson Advertising said: “This is a great project and I’m looking forward to the final version. We’ve seen in Burnley how the reopening of the Todmorden Curve has brought benefits to the town being directly connected to Manchester, so I’m proud to be helping SELRAP get their project over the line.”

Peter Bryson, Chairman of SELRAP, said: “We’ve had so much support from leading figures already on our project, and 2021 is the year we will get this over the line and secure the funding. SDA had some great ideas on how to get the message across in a way that will capture people’s attention, and this will be the year we get the wheels in motion!”

More can be seen on the benefits and the progress so far on the project at the SELRAP website here: www.selrap.org.uk