By Graham Baker, town council youth development worker
This year’s Bradley Stoke Community Festival saw the return of two days of action-packed activity, organised by local young people and volunteers with the support of the town council’s youth worker.
On Saturday, the queues soon built up as children and young people awaited their turn to create their own bespoke piece of street art, on a small board, with the assistance of a professional street artist and our youth worker. Most chose to write their name in graffiti style and then elaborate on their design. Over 50 children and young people then proudly took home their original ‘Banksy’ for display in the family home. Many of the parents said it was great to have the chance to do something a little different and welcomed the idea of further youth art projects.
Also, the skate park half-pipe returned to the main festival site and hosted impressive pro rider demonstrations that particularly caught the eye of spectators unfamiliar with the skills of the skate park. Between the demos, local riders of all ages and disciplines populated the ramps in ‘have a go’ sessions.
On the Sunday, the skate ramp was relocated to our new skate park (to provide additional capacity) and 60 competitors gathered to demonstrate their skills in front of an audience that peaked at over 250. In addition, there were also more pro rider demonstrations and a very popular circus skills workshop.
We held competitions in three categories: scooter, BMX and skateboard; and three age ranges, with competitors ranging from eight to 30 years old. Much fun was had by all and we are hoping to hold two further competitions later this year.
Above: Prizewinners in the scooter 12 years & under category (l-r) – Ollie Thomas (12) 1st; Ethan Large (11) 3rd; Fin Harris (11) 2nd
Above: Prizewinners in the scooter 13 to 16 years category (l-r) – Jacob Venning (14) 1st; Ollie Edwards (13) 2nd
Above: Prizewinners in the scooter 17 years & over category (l-r) – Kailen Oliver (17) 1st; Adrian Brett (18) 2nd
Above: Prizewinners in the BMX 12 years & under category (l-r) – Harvey Holland (12) 2nd; Cody Abraham (10) 1st
Above: Prizewinners in the BMX 13 to 16 years category (l-r) – Taylor Harper (14) 1st; Ryan Day (15) 2nd; Csabar Molnar (14) 3rd
Above: Prizewinners in the BMX 17 years & over category (l-r) – Josh Holbrook 2nd; Robbie Williamson 1st; James Element 3rd
Prizewinners in the skateboard open category (l-r) – Alex Howden (14) 1st; Joe Larcombe (13) 3rd; Sol Pollet (11) 2nd [not in photo]
Credits: All photos taken by local young volunteers
This article originally appeared in the July/August 2017 issue of the Bradley Stoke Journal news magazine (on pages 24 & 25). The magazine is delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to 9,500 homes in Bradley Stoke, Little Stoke and Stoke Lodge. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.
