Jarrow Festival hailed as great success as fun day brings it to a close

The fun of the fair came to Jarrow as scores of families helped bring the curtain down on a popular festival in the town.
By The Newsroom
Published 3rd Jun 2018, 15:58 BST
Updated 3rd Jun 2018, 16:07 BST
Fun with bubbles at the Jarrow Festival finale at the Hedworthfield family fun day.Fun with bubbles at the Jarrow Festival finale at the Hedworthfield family fun day.
Fun with bubbles at the Jarrow Festival finale at the Hedworthfield family fun day.

The final event of the week-long Jarrow Festival took place at Hedworthfield Community Association, in Cornhillap.

The Mayor of South Tyneside, Coun Ken Stephenson, officially opened the free event before youngsters were able to step onto a range of funfair rides provided by O’Brien’s funfairs and catering.

Fun with bubbles at the Jarrow Festival finale at the Hedworthfield family fun day.Fun with bubbles at the Jarrow Festival finale at the Hedworthfield family fun day.
Fun with bubbles at the Jarrow Festival finale at the Hedworthfield family fun day.
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They also enjoyed sports games, activities and face painting, while there were craft stalls, dance and gymnastics displays and a metafit workout.

Coun Geraldine Kilgour, who helped to organise the event, was delighted with the turnout – despite poor weather.

She said: “It was fabulous to have the finale at Hedworthfield CA, which is very precious to us.

“There were so many things going on and activities for all the family. The weather wasn’t very kind to us, but we still had a fair showing of local residents.

Spiderman Jude Charlton, four, of Jarrow, at the Jarrow Festival finale.Spiderman Jude Charlton, four, of Jarrow, at the Jarrow Festival finale.
Spiderman Jude Charlton, four, of Jarrow, at the Jarrow Festival finale.
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“The festival overall has been very successful, and I think it’s what we need.

“It’s great for the area and good for the borough across the board, and is something we potentially need to do more of.

“We received huge support from all of our staff. All of our staff, the trustees and directors helped and supported our partners to set up, which was quite a job. We’re a massive team and a solid team, and we’re very grateful for the community support to keep this going.”

Among the other attractions at the event were a photo booth, balloon modelling and a visit from Beauty and the Beast.

Millie and Holly Hamilton, aged eight and four respectively, of Jarrow, at the family fun day.Millie and Holly Hamilton, aged eight and four respectively, of Jarrow, at the family fun day.
Millie and Holly Hamilton, aged eight and four respectively, of Jarrow, at the family fun day.
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A range of stalls were set up, including one for the fostering team at South Tyneside Council.

Kelly Vasvary, the council’s fostering team manager, said: “We’re relaunching our fostering service with a new payment for skills model.

“There has been a lot of investment from the council into the fostering service with regards to the recruitment of foster carers and into the foster carers we’ve already got. We want to increase the profile of the fostering service and events like this are crucial for that.”

The fostering team holds an information event on the last Thursday of every month at 16 Barrington Street, in South Shields, between 6pm and 8pm.

Related topics:South TynesideSouth Tyneside Council