Meet dog sledder champs and try out free activities
Packed lunch with each session
Families in Blairgowrie and Rattray will have the opportunity to enjoy an exciting line-up of free activities this summer thanks to the town’s Proactive Communities group and Perth and Kinross Council.
Every Wednesday during the school holidays, families of school age children will be able to take part in everything from sports to crafts and hillwalking to tennis.
And those taking part will also be given a free packed lunch or picnic at every event they attend
The sessions get under way at 11am tomorrow, June 30, at Davie Park in Rattray with a chance to meet some of the huskies from Bowland Trails on the outskirts of the east Perthshire town with championship dog-sledders Mary and John Carter.
The following week there will be two fun sports activity sessions run in conjunction with Active Schools Coordinator Caroline Lawrie. The morning session will take place at 10.30am in Davie Park and the afternoon session will take place in Lochy Park in Blairgowrie from 1.30pm.
On Wednesday, July 14, families will be able to enjoy crafting sessions with volunteers from the Nest Creative Spaces team. These will take place in the garden at Rattray Hall on Balmoral Road at 10.30am and 1.30pm.
Volunteers from Blairgowrie and District Hillwalking Club will lead two groups up Knockie Hill in Blairgowrie at 10.30am and 11.30am on Wednesday, July 21. Those taking part will be able to enjoy spectacular views of the town from the top of Knockie where they will stop for a picnic lunch at the recently revamped viewing point.
On Wednesday, July 28, again working in collaboration with the team from Nest, there will be an opportunity to make name signs for a new bird box trail. There will be two sessions, one at 10.30am and one at 1.30pm, both of which will be held in the garden at Rattray Hall on Balmoral Road.
Rattray Tennis Club is hosting two tennis sessions for families to try their hand at the sport on Wednesday, August 4, at 9.30am and 10.30am.
And then on August 11, the bird boxes with their name signs will be hung in Davie Park creating the new trail, and those taking part will be able to enjoy a special picnic to mark the end of the programme of events.
The free sessions are part of Proactive Communities’ Blairgowrie and Rattray Independent (BaRI) Food Project which aims to tackle food poverty, food waste and food education in the town.
The BaRI Food Project, working with Perth and Kinross Council and Tesco and the Co-operative’s Fareshare scheme, offers a range of different subsidised services available to everyone in the town including weekly lunch club, prepared meals, ‘give and take’ community larders and a twiceweekly subsidised food store.
It has also provided hundreds of food parcels to local residents throughout the two lockdown periods and in the runup to Christmas, as well as ‘lockdown lunches’ to families of school-aged children.
Lesley McDonald from Proactive Communities explained: “The BaRI Food Project is all about reaching people through food, involving people and connecting with them – whether that is through dropping off meals once a week, holding online cookery classes to bring people together virtually or helping to reduce food waste and people’s food bills through the community larders, providing lockdown lunches for young people and the subsidised store.
“We know that the long school summer holiday period can be challenging for some families and that this is the case more than ever this year, after two lockdowns and the additional financial difficulties the pandemic has caused for many.
“So, working with other groups and organisations in the community, we have organised a series of sessions that are free for families to enjoy.
“And as well as the activities, which aim to encourage healthy and creative interests and foster an interest in biodiversity, those taking part will be given a free packed lunch or picnic.
“Everyone is welcome to come along, just email barifood@ discoverblairgowrie.co.uk to book your place. We have been delighted with the response to the programme of events so far and are very much looking to a great summer of fun!”
Tracie Dick from Nest Creative Spaces is looking forward to being involved with the sessions.
She said: “As Nest is a community interest company, supporting the local community is at the heart of everything we do and we were delighted to be able to help out with some of the events Proactive Communities has organised for families over the summer.
“The work Proactive Communities does in the town – both in terms of reducing food waste and tackling food poverty and connecting people through its volunteer group support - is absolutely fantastic and these sessions are a great example of that whole ethos.”
To book a space on any of the free activities this summer, email barifood@ discoverblairgowrie.co.uk