On Thursday 3rd August, hundreds of people flocked to our one day festival for fun, football and falafel in the sunshine. The free event at Margate Football Club made sure everyone felt included regardless of age or ability during this Summer extravaganza.
An array of activities gave the crowd a lot to choose from, including sports, dance, live music and sensory sessions. The fabulous live musical line up of local artists included; The Greyhound Buskers, Weird Cousins, and James Todd who all performed during the day for people to enjoy. For the more energetic there was Golf, Football, Circus Skills, Fitness, Dance Workshops and Cricket. These activities were supported by local sports providers Gillingham FC, England Golf and Kent Cricket. Gentler activities on the day included; Bits & Bytes with their very own robotic baby dinosaurs to hand out cuddles, Pets as Therapy who brought two of their friendly dogs for people to touch and stroke, alongside two masseuses offering relaxation sessions. Deputy Mayor, Julie Dellar attended on the day, taking part in activities and speaking to the participants.
We were fortunate to have the support of local services who dedicated their time and expertise free of charge, these included Kent Fire and Rescue Service, Books Beyond Words, NHS Kent Community Health, Healthwatch, Thanet Volunteer Bureau, Kent Libraries and Learning Disability England. Local businesses also stepped in to help with volunteers from Tesco, Pfizer, Network Rail and Lloyds Bank all providing support on the day by greeting people and staffing sports activities.
Fundraising Manager, Jane Brooke said: “We were incredibly lucky that so many services gave their time for free to create a really fantastic day for people with a learning disability! Thanks to funding from the Tesco Bags of Help Scheme, we were able to hold it in the ideal venue of Margate Football Club who went out of their way to make sure the day went smoothly”
Dynamic duo, Paul & Josh took to the decks from 5.30pm to kick start the 18+ evening event with a winning set list which certainly got the room rocking to the rhythm with headliner, DJ Howard Sway concluding the gig with a cool mix of reworked classics.
Fundraising activities on the day raised £537 which will go towards our next event.
