Wokingham

Wokingham District Council’s community wardens and youth workers are hoping to make a big splash with young people this summer as they host a family fun day at the Wokingham Waterside Centre on Sunday August 20.

The Wokingham family fun day will encourage young people to learn more about water safety whilst having fun at the same time. After a short induction, they will be asked put these new skills to the test in a series of team races in Katakanu boats –a catamaran-style boat, which is almost unsinkable! The boat seats four to six people and the team has to work together to have the best chance of being able to win the competition.

There will also be many other activities taking place as the Wokingham mobile youth centre will be attending the fun day and families and friends are more than welcome to come along and join in the festivities. After the races, the youngsters will have built up an appetite and they will be able to enjoy the delights of a BBQ for a minimal charge. The district council’s youth service mobile bike doctor will also be on hand to give advice and guidance on maintenance of bikes.

The Wokingham community wardens will have an information display offering members of the local community a chance to find out more about the services they provide throughout the Wokingham district. There will also be information displays from the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service and the Royal Berkshire Ambulance Trust. And, for a small charge of 50 pence per five minutes, youngster can bounce away their summer blues on a bouncy castle all in aid of a youth shelter in Charvil.

The fun day is free to attend and, if young people aged between ten and 16 years old wish to take part in the boat race, they will need to book a place by calling the community wardens on (0118) 974 3798. At the end of the day, there will be an award ceremony and the winning teams will be presented with their medals by executive member for community safety Cllr Barrie Patman.

Wokingham Cllr Barrie Patman said: “We are hoping there will be between 10 and 15 teams taking part and it promises to be a great day out. We hope the waterside fun day, which will include a host of free activities for all the family, will provide a fantastic day out for local people and offer them the chance to find out more about the work of the wardens.”

Roderick Mertens, Wokingham community warden, said: “The council’s community wardens have been working with the youth service and tenant services to promote this fun day and we are hoping it will create a sense of team spirit and pride amongst the young people taking part.”

The fun day has been funded by the district council’s tenant services.

Wokingham District Council