Fun-packed day of family activities on offer at Gosport Marine Festival this weekend
Fantastic family fun returns this weekend
A fun-packed day of family activities are on the roster for this year’s Gosport Marine Festival this weekend
Some of the available water-based activities on Saturday (May 16) include paddleboarding, kayaking, sailing, Hawk boat trips, accessible power boat trips and accessible sailing trips. Open Ships include HMS Medusa, Boleh, a Tall Ships Youth Trust Challenger, a Morning Star Trust yacht, and two historic ships from Boathouse 4.
Land-based activities include Axe throwing, climbing wall, archery, Blades of Thunder Helicopter Display Team exhibiting, Tales of Sea Shanty Festival performers, and local Gosport bands. At lunchtime, there will be a display of model boat battles on the boating lakes, and the Cumberland Guard will fire a salute at Bastion No 1 at approximately 1pm.
All activities are free, however to get on the water you will need to register and receive a wristband. Registration is available at Walpole Park South (at the entrance to the Park near Halfords) and at the Millennium TimeSpace. Some of the salt water trips will need you to book a time slot which you can do on the day.
An opening ceremony kicks the day off at 9.30am at the Millenium Time Space. Alongside the activities, there are food stalls, picnic areas and lots of entertainment throughout the day. The event winds up with performances from local bands until 9pm.
Event Chair Lucy Grodie said: “We’re incredibly grateful to all our sponsors and event partners, it simply wouldn’t be possible for us to bring this fantastic and free event to Gosport without their support. This event gets better and bigger each year and we’re excited to make these water-based and land-based activities so accessible for local people. There is no pre-registration required, just turn up, give it a go, and most importantly have fun while doing it.”
Caroline Dinenage, MP for Gosport, said “Gosport Marine Festival has played a key role in our area for over a decade providing a family fun day out celebrating our beautiful coastal location. GMF provides hundreds of young people, families and people with additional needs the opportunity to take part in water sports and marine-related activities, many for the first time and completely free of charge.
“Community organisations, businesses and volunteers come together to celebrate our unique locations alongside the culture and heritage opportunities that we are so lucky to have here.”
More information about the event including the activities on the day, can be found by visiting https://www.gosportmarinefestival.uk/