Teenagers pull off great Olympic-themed fun day

Thanks to Swindon youngsters being allocate a £2,000 budget by their church, more than 500 people have enjoyed the area’s first community Fun Day.

Swindon’s Gorse Hill Baptist Church trusted fifteen young people to plan and present the Olympic-themed event for the first Saturday of the Games. On the day, they took the lead in running events including a circus stand, a boutique, a barbeque, a toddler zone, a games arena and an animal showcase.

Andy Johnson, 16, ran the circus stand. An expert at plate spinning and twirling diabolos, Andy showed people how to make juggling balls out of balloons and white rice. ‘The diabolos were the best,’ he said. ‘It was lots of fun showing children and parents how to use them. We also had an Olympic Torch runner who ran around the estate stirring people up. The most popular attraction was the animals. People loved looking at the guinea pigs and chinchillas.’

The teenagers had been meeting weekly for seven months to plan for the big day. They also attended a training day by More Than Gold, the agency helping churches make the most of the 2012 Games.

The group also took responsibility for making the festival known. by writing articles for their local newspaper, handing out leaflets and putting up posters. Their aim was to reach out to the community during the Jubilee Year through an Olympic-themed event.

Lucy Green, 14, set up the boutique. ‘We had hair braiding, face-painting and nail-painting,’ she said. ‘Loads of people came by the stand. I coloured people’s nails in the Olympic colours. My friends helped me with the hair braiding.’

Lucy’s 12-year-old sister, Emily, spent the day playing with toddlers in the toddler zone. ‘There was a climbing frame, a ball pit, play pens and colouring in,’ said Emily. ‘I asked the toddlers what they wanted to do and then I helped them. The festival was a lot of hard work to prepare but it was worth it.’ One of the deacons from the church, Heather Prictor, said, ‘The young people were not entirely on their own as they had the support of our new student minister. But we were determined this should be their event and not ours.'

Heather added, ‘The whole day went absolutely superbly. People were amazed to realise it was young people who were responsible. And also that it was all free.’

The event took place at Swindon’s Edinburgh Street Recreation Ground. People who attended said they hoped there would be another one next year.