Family Fun Weekend Highlights

Once again the  Watergrasshill Family Fun Weekend jointly organised by Watergrasshill United and Watergrasshill N.S. Parents Association was an outstanding success. Blessed by favourable weather, the crowds came out in force to support all the various events held over the June bank holiday weekend.

The weekend kicked off in style on the Friday evening with Dustbusters Light Orchestra setting a suitable tone in the wonderful balmy conditions. With the main street closed and a separate cordoned off  section with childrens amusements, there was plenty for everyone to do and see in a safe environment including a wonderful array of local food and craft  stalls. As the night progressed, the inaugural Inter Pub Tug of War competition took place just off the main street, and the crowds really enjoyed the intensity of this event and were impressed by the might men representing the Fir Tree who emerged victorious in the end.

The entertainment continued with several local hip hop dance troupes strutting their stuff in front of the DJ stage and as the evening gathered pace, the live band Hot Guitars sprang into action on the main stage.

There was a fantastic sense of community spirit on the night with neighbours, friends and extended family members all thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to mingle freely in the village centre.

Some highlights of day one ...

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Saturday Morning saw the start of a very busy day commence with two new sporting events added to the festival calender with a 50k cycle and an 8k road race both commencing  and finishing  in the village. On a day of glorious sunshine there was an excellent turnout for both events and a great time was had by all involved afterwards enjoying the refreshments on offer at the First Fruits Arts Theatre.

Some highlights of the 50K cycle ....

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Some highlights of the 8K road race ....

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The racing pigs made a welcome return on Saturday evening with the main street once again closed off and converted into a customised race track. The crowd were entertained between races with a large screen ensuring everyone got to see all the action and a tote betting system was in place for those feeling lucky. Huge crowds form all over cork and beyond attended  and people danced and socialised on the street in a real festival like atmosphere until well after midnight.

Some highlights of Day 2 ....

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The annual underage soccer blitz took place at the home of Watergrasshill United on Sunday from 10am right through to 4pm with welcome participation from clubs in Cork City and County and the crowd was back at Skehanagh Park again that evening to watch the local veterans in action in the Over 35's Soccer Tournament. Both the playoff for the winning team and the last placed team  were decided on penalty shoot outs with Team Loftus happy to  pass on  the wooden spoon award to Dean Roche's band of misfits. A great night of crack and revelry was had by all afterwards in The Hut Bar, with local DJ John Regan on hand  again to entertain us all.

Some highlights of the academy Soccer Tournament ....

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Some highlights of the over 35's Soccer Tournament ....

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The weekend was completed with two fabulous events on the Bank Monday, the family orienteering at Condonstown Woods and that evening , great fun was had by those attending the barn dance at the First Fruits Arts Theatre.

All in all, beautiful weather, brilliant crowds and a thriving community spirit,combined to produce a memorable and successful family fun weekend for 2014.

Sincere thanks to all the volunteers involved and thankfully significant  funds have been raised to support two worthy organisations, Watergrasshill  United and the National School Parents Association.