On Wednesday we were at Goldthorpe's annual Bounce Into Summer event with inflatable slides and games for the school holidays - a midweek date right in the middle of the six weeks, which is exactly when parents need somewhere to take them.
It's a properly community-minded day: adults came in free and children were five pounds on the door, cash only, so there was no great barrier to a full afternoon on the inflatables. Thank you to everyone who came along, and to the organisers for having us.
As well as the slides, the field had our Hook A Duck stall up and running - prize every time, unicorns and sharks hanging off the awning - and a fairground ride alongside, so there was something for the ones who'd rather sit than bounce. The inflatable side takes the running around; the stall and the ride take the pocket money. Between them, a five-pound ticket goes a long way.
Days like this are the backbone of our summer. The same week we had helter skelters and castles out at free community events elsewhere in South Yorkshire, and the kit that goes to a corporate fun day on the Saturday is often on a park field by the Wednesday. Wednesday or Saturday, the kit works the same.
The slides and castles were sized from the little ones up, which is what makes a day like this work for families: the eight-year-old and the four-year-old both get a turn, and neither has to queue behind teenagers. That, plus a stall that hands every child a prize, is most of a good afternoon right there.
Six weeks is a long stretch of summer, and the community groups of South Yorkshire did their bit to fill it this year - free entry days, pound-a-ride funfairs, open days in the park, funfair rides and castles on patches of grass all over the place. It's been a good summer to be in the business of it.
If you're organising something similar for next year - a gala, a fun day at a community centre, a school fete - we can bring anything from a single bouncy castle up to a full fair setup with a helter skelter, rides and stalls. The organisers we work with tend to keep entry cheap or free and make the day work on the food stalls and the funding, and we're happy to fit around that.
Ring the office on 0114 345 0135 and we'll talk through what your budget and your space can take.
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