THIS week Selkirk has welcomed its first Border Bunnets Hatfest.

From the group which 'yarn-bombed' Selkirk, Yarrowford and Ettrickbridge, the Souter Stormers, comes a very special festival and auction.

Hatfest is a week-long event which will centre around a pop-up shop at 1 Tower Street, Selkirk which is open until Friday, September 13th.

"It brings a smile to everyone's face," says Stormers committee member Daphne.

Organiser Kay Ross said the idea for the very first Selkirk yarn-bombing came from a simple Google search: "After an arts festival I wanted to find something for us to do. We held a coffee morning in 2015 and we met a few people interested in crochet and street art."

The group held events in 2015, 2017, with a completely crocheted room and now this year's Hatfest.

The choice to have a hat making competition and auction was in a bid to avoid repeating their first yarn-art. And luckily enough for any visitors, this isn't the only event in Selkirk this week. The Walking Festival is back in Selkirk again and the two events have come together to make a great community experience.

Sue Briggs from the Walking Festival says both benefit from each other: "Having the two adds a new dimension to the events. Walkers arrive and see there's more on in town than they expected. Same way we've had people come from the Stormers asking if we have any free spaces on walks. We're glad that the two events can help support the town and local businesses."

The festival will cast off with a Mad Hatter's Tea Party and auction on Saturday, September 14th. The auction will be run by none other than BBC Bargain Hunt's Anita Manning, who is sure to get the bids rolling in.

Leading up to the event, organisers held their own competition to decide 20 lucky hats out of 113 to be showcased at the auction. Some entries even arrived from as far away as Canada, America and the Isle of Wight. But those who didn't make the top 20 haven't been left out. You can buy any number of crocheted and knitted items from the Border Bunnets' pop-up shop at 1 Tower Street, Selkirk (A7 corner).

And, all of this is for a good cause as proceeds from the festival will go to Alzheimer Scotland. Kay explained: "It's an illness, and it's become something a tremendous number of people deal with. Our thinking was, hats go on your head. Your memory is in your head. Simple as that."

And with a chuckle, Daphne added: "Also, we're a lot older!

"We do have older members too and a few ladies living with Alzheimer's."

Over 200 tickets have been sold for Saturday's tea party, there's even a growing waiting list for extra spaces.

But you don't have to be at the auction to be a winner. If you stop by the Tower Street shop you can make a silent bid on any of the 20 hats you want and you might just be the lucky one to take home a truly unique piece.

Kay told us:"Being realistic, hats adults wear now are traditional, plain beanies. I think hats could be a more fashionable statement to other people."

The Hatfest has opened up many channels of collaboration within the community. Students at Selkirk High School designed and created some of the trophies for the top 20 and overall winning hats, members of the Community Shed provided wooden supports for the decorated traffic cones around the town. And sweetest of all, pupils from local schools have designed mini cones with small hats which will later be donated to Innocent Smoothies Age UK fundraiser.

Your last chance to make a bid on a hat is 4pm Friday 13th in the pop-up shop, Selkirk where you can also enquire about any tea party tickets or waiting list spaces.