The Great Get Together

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Ever since Emma Carter, Active Calderdale’s Community Project Manager, began working in Cornholme and Portsmouth in May 2023, the local buzz was all about one thing—a community event to bring everyone together. Fast forward to March 2024, and the village’s dream of a large-scale event began to take shape with the help of local Active Champions Rebecca Slaven and Natasha Lancaster.

A Day of Fun for All

The event aimed to offer activities for all ages across four venues, spanning a mile from Portsmouth Recreation Ground to Vale Baptist Church. The initial ideas included an intergenerational sports day, a treasure hunt, bike repair sessions, community fitness tasters, arts and crafts, and food stalls. Local businesses and residents soon got involved, expanding the range of activities.

The Magic of Local Heroes

The ideas developed as more Active Champions came on board – Bex Williamson from Cornholme Running Wild, Charlotte Hamilton from The Lionesses local women’s support group and Kelly Moor who owns and runs the popular Moor Fillings sandwich shop in the village all made fantastic contributions. Jim Haughey from Vale Baptist Church and Caroline Beardsmore from Calder Community Cares also joined the planning group.  

The objective was always to provide free activities and free or low-cost refreshments to appeal to as much of the community as possible. Rebecca Slaven, who runs Inspire Motivate Transform CIC, used her business skills to secure funding from CultureDale’s Year of Culture 2024: Activation Fund. This funding helped provide subsidised ice creams and food from local Indian restaurant Bombay Lounge, as well as a shuttle bus for those unable to walk between venues. These proved a real hit, with £1 ice creams and smiles all around.

A Village United

The village pulled together and used their skills and contacts to organise the activities, including free henna & massage sessions, and face painting. Cornholme Running Wild planned forest school activities, while a local artist offered a nature arts and crafts session. A resident even created an "elf house" trail for families to enjoy in the park. Kelly from Moor Fillings then connected with local businesses to gather raffle prizes, including an engine service from JimBob Motors, a pack of quality Welsh beef from Four Lane Ends farm, a year’s membership at Havok Bike Park plus activity classes, Cadence Cycleworks’ vouchers and much more.

Families enjoyed ParkPlay in the morning, then participated in the Intergenerational Sports Day, with fun activities like egg & spoon and sack races. It was a day full of laughs, especially watching dads try to fit into undersized sacks!

We all had so much fun, my belly hurts from laughing at the dads joining in on the sack/egg and spoon races! 

A fabulous injection of happiness, fun and community. Just what this village has been missing for so long. Thank you for an amazing family day.

Alice Kirby - Resident and volunteer

Overcoming Challenges

As road safety can be a barrier to people engaging in events and physical activity across Cornholme & Portsmouth, the village school’s Crossing Patrol Warden, Ellen, stepped in to provide support for a couple of hours with her hi-vis and ‘lollipop stick’. A familiar face, she was a great asset to both helping people cross the road to the park but also to make children and families feel at ease. 

There were also other challenges, such as managing everyone's time, getting permission to use green spaces, dealing with health and safety issues and handling last-minute changes with volunteers. However, the group stayed flexible, adapted quickly, and everything fell into place.

The Future Looks Bright

As the day came to a close, the success of the Great Get Together was clear. With new members joining the Active Cornholme & Portsmouth group on Facebook and money banked for next year’s event, the future of this community looks bright.

With plans already in motion for an even bigger and better event next year, Cornholme and Portsmouth are well on their way to making this annual celebration a tradition that no one will want to miss!