Holiday Here! Godalming Staycation
Slideshow 2011 and report
Super Staycation Success 2011
Saturday 13th August 2011 saw the last day of the Godalming Staycation which had run from Saturday 6th with a hugely successful Summer Family Party in the Park.
The Phillips Memorial Park was filled with families enjoying the afternoon's activities, varied food concessions, craft stalls for parent's to browse, a beer and Pimms tent run by the Godalming Round Table and the delicious cream tea tent run by Godalming Town Council meant there was something for everyone. Children were entertained by Professor Dumpling's Punch & Judy show, Molly Moo Cow, inflatable Noah's Ark and Helter Skelter and a children's Carousel from the Hollicombe Collection. Entertainment on the bandstand included G Factor winner Caleb Rowan, members and friends of the Surrey Hills Ukele big band and the Community Gospel Choir. Steve Mohabir from the Toy Box ran an all-day recycle your cardboard into toys event with an ingenious kit from Makedo and was knee-deep in families trying to outdo each other in their creative efforts!
The Family Party in the Park was a great way to finish what has been an incredibly successful Staycation. The varied programme of 50+ activities and events, which were either free or heavily discounted, gave people in Godalming a vast choice of things to do.
The first event of this year's Staycation was hugely popular with record numbers turning up for the Godalming Angling Society's free Fishing for Fun morning and barbecue; this set the scene for the rest of the week. Many of the businesses and groups who had generously contributed towards providing the community with an activity or event reported an increase in customer enquiries, or people trying an activity for the first time. John Richardson and PC Pete Harris took vocational leave to offer a week-long kayaking course which, like many of the Staycation activities, was over subscribed. Examples of activities on offer were Boating on the River Wey, ballet and musical theatre workshops, sweets and cake making, swimming, cookery demonstrations, music workshops, town trail activities, Godalming Town Football Club's Open Day, Tours & Teas at Ladywell Convent, Bingo at The Denningberg Centre, Warhammer, Canoeing by the Godalming & District Scout Canoe Club as well as the week-long canoe course run by the Go Godalming Canoe Club, Tennis at Busbridge Tennis Club, Signing for Fun, Ghost Walks and a car boot sale held by The Meath.
The OXJAM music festival, organised by The Saturday Thing to raise money for Oxfam, took place at the bandstand at the beginning of the week and there were also bandstand concerts on both Sunday's, which added greatly to a fabulously full programme of Staycation activities which was distributed to every house in Godalming in the July edition of Round & About Godalming.
The Mayor of Godalming's chosen charity, Community Street Team, will benefit from the generous donations made during Staycation week. Staycation was put together by Godalming Town Council and Godalming Together Community Interest Company and supported by Waverley Borough Council and Surrey County Council as well as Godalming's business community and voluntary organisations.
