Halloween school holidays are fast approaching, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council have a spooktacular line up of getactiveabc kids Halloween activities to keep the boredom at bay.
Taking place at locations across the borough, the activities present a vast range of persuits to keep young ones active, healthy and happy.
Highlights include Halloween Schemes suitable for 4 – 14 year olds taking place at Keady, Tandragee and Richhill Recreation Centres from 9.00am to 3.00pm daily.
Craigavon Golf Ski Centre is offering action-packed activity days that gives adventurous kids the opportunity to experience a range of fun and proactive activities, suitable for aged 5 – 14 year olds.
For a full list of whats on offer for young people this halloween and further information including costs and how to book go to www.getactiveabc.com/halloween
Avenue Road is now the proud owner of a fantastic refurbished Play Park, which was officially opened by the Lord Mayor, Councillor Mealla Campbell – and the local community turned out in force to celebrate!
Children from Kingspark Primary School along with community representatives, contractors, elected members and council officials all helped the Lord Mayor to cut the ribbon and officially launch the park!
With an investment of £75,000, the new park caters for all children up to the age of 14. You will find toddler and junior swings, an inclusive basket swing, see-saw, inclusive roundabout, play panels and multi-play climbing units. A range of seating has also been added so parents and guardians can come along and share in the children’s play experiences.
“I am absolutely delighted to be invited along to cut the ribbon and declare this brilliant new park open!” commented the Lord Mayor.
“This is the 13th park to be completed and opened as part of our £4.75m Play Strategy and I know this has been a much anticipated park within the community. It is magical to see the children so enthusiastic and loving the variety of new equipment on offer that will be enjoyed for years to come.”
Farrans were the lead contractor for the works while sub-contractor Garden Escapes – a specialist playground equipment company – supplied and installed the new equipment.
This park, along with 12 others, are just the beginning of a £4.75m Play Strategy which will see a number of parks across the borough being refurbished, alongside our commitment to non-fixed play, which is crucial to child development.
For more information contact the Play Development Officer on 028 3831 1684 or 07515 607 472.
Richhill Recreation Centre was bursting with excitement on Tuesday 15 October when P2 pupils from Hardy Memorial Primary School launched the new Lets Bounce Party Package.
The package duration is 1 hour & 45 minutes and is suitable for children aged 4 – 7 years, the package includes 60 minutes of fully supervised bouncy castle fun with scooters and 45 minutes in the party room for food. Richhill Recreation Centre are unable to provide party food, however, kitchen facilities are available in the party room or outside catering may be brought in.
The Lets Bounce Party package is £65, for further information, please telephone Richhill Recreation Centre on 028 38870718.
Have a hair-raising experience, filled with chills and thrills this Halloween at Portadown People’s Park Family Fun Day on Tuesday 29 October.
Guaranteed to lift your spirits – tickets go on sale on Monday 14 October at 10am from www.getactiveabc.com/halloween and cost £2 per child – so be sure to get your hands on yours!
Taking place from 1pm to 5pm on Tuesday 29 October, the Family Fun Day will see fa-boo-lous amusement rides, circus performers, a mystifying magic show, spine-tingling story telling sessions, soft play, a horrifying haunted house as well as the chance to toast marshmallows.
With creepy craft workshops, play activities, multi-sports sessions also on offer, all with music, hot drinks and ghoulish snacks on sale – there will be something for everyone! And don’t forget wear your spooky costume, wrap up warm and wear your wellies!
This event can only be attended by ticket holders so make sure you don’t miss out on this fang-tastic fun day to remember!
With a high demand expected for this event, be ready to visit getactiveabc.com/halloween this Monday 14 October at 10am! We look forward to seeing you there!
We asked
As part of Council’s Capital Play Development Programme, the play park in Lurgan Park has been designated for refurbishment with an investment of £250,000.
It was suggested that the current existing site (Site 1) might not be in the best location and a potential new site (Site 2) had been identified close to the entrance at Waves Leisure Complex, Robert Street.
Council asked residents for their views on which site they feel would better suit the new District Play Park in Lurgan Park
You Said
The majority of respondants agreed that site 2, beside Waves Leisure Complex (Robert Street entrance) was the most suitable site.
However, after this survey closed a public meeting was held and Council was contacted regarding a number of potential difficulties using the site chosen.
Council asked for guidance from Heritage Lottery Fund and Health & Safety in relation to the site; their advice stated that the site identified (site 2) could not be used for the new play area.
The play area will remain in the existing site (subject to planning permission), however, it will be larger and will have all the equipment that was previously chosen as part of the consultation with schools and the public.
We Did
The majority of respondants agreed that site 2, beside Waves Leisure Complex (Robert Street entrance) was the most suitable site.
However, after this survey closed a public meeting was held and Council was contacted regarding a number of potential difficulties using the site chosen.
Council asked for guidance from Heritage Lottery Fund and Health & Safety in relation to the site; their advice stated that the site identified (site 2) could not be used for the new play area.
The play area will remain in the existing site (subject to planning permission), however, it will be larger and will have all the equipment that was previously chosen as part of the consultation with schools and the public
In support of this year’s global ‘Restart a Heart Day’ campaign taking place on Wednesday 16th October, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council is whole-heartedly backing this designated day of action aimed at teaching vital life-saving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills to as many people as possible.
Having supported the campaign in previous years, the council will once again be delivering FREE CPR training sessions at various venues across the borough.
Lord Mayor Mealla Campbell is calling on local communities to get involved.
“The aim of ‘Restart a Heart Day’ is to bring awareness, education and training to the general public in order to increase the likelihood of lives being saved in the event of an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
Around 1,500 people in Northern Ireland suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest each year, with the chances of survival as low as one in ten. The early moments of a cardiac arrest are critical, and a trained person on the scene can make the difference between life and death.
Being able to administer CPR can increase the chances of survival by two to three times. However, more of us need to learn these vital life-saving skills as statistics show that bystander CPR is delivered in only one in five cases.
Please give up one hour of your life in order to learn the skills needed to help save someone else’s life.”
CPR training sessions will be delivered at these venues on these dates.
| Portadown Town Hall (Minor Hall) | Monday 14th October | 7.00pm-8.00pm |
| Orchard Leisure Centre, Armagh | Tuesday 15th October | 9.30am-10.30am |
| Banbridge Civic Building (Chamber) | Tuesday 15th October | 10.00am-11.00am |
| Orchard Leisure Centre, Armagh | Tuesday 15th October | 11.00am-12 noon |
| TMAC Centre, Keady | Wednesday 16th October | 6.30pm-7.30pm |
| Lurgan Town Hall (Basement Room) | Wednesday 16th October | 7.00pm-8.00pm |
| Brownlow Community Hub (Studio) | Friday 18th October | 6.00pm-7.00pm |
Participants are advised to wear trousers and comfortable footwear as there is a practical element to the training.
To find out more about ‘Restart a Heart Day’ and to access online resources, visit www.resus.org.uk and www.bhf.org.uk
To register for a CPR training session, call Sharon Donaghy on 028 3831 2518 or email
Amateur photographers throughout the borough are once again being invited to put their skills to the test in Lurgan Park’s annual photography competition – with the winning photos being included in the park’s 2020 calendar.
A maximum of five photos are allowed per entry and photographers are asked to share their best photos of the park in one of following categories:
- Wildlife,
- Park life (such as people having fun in the park)
- Landscape
Closing date for entries is Friday 11 October at 12noon and throughout the October all photos will be on display in the park’s bowling pavilion.
The competition is for amateur photographers only and all photos should have the date the photo was taken, the name of the entrant, address and/or e-mail on the back. Photographs should be 8 x 6 size, landscape only.
For further information or to get an entry form please contact Leanne McShane on 07766 740 427.
Congratulations to everyone who participated in our Craigavon Aquathon event on Tuesday 17th September and also to everyone who took part in our Junior & Adult Try-a-Triathlon events on Sunday 22nd September.
For images from both events, check out our getactiveabc Facebook page.
Check out the results for both events below.
Aquathon Results
Triathlon Results
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council are delighted to announce the launch of its Sports Bursary. Designed to support and facilitate the further development of aspiring performers who reside in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and have the ability and potential to bring credit to the borough with success at Provincial level or higher.
Lord Mayor, Councillor Mealla Campbell, said, “The Sports Bursary is a fantastic opportunity for athletes within the Borough to gain support in helping them achieve their sporting goals. I am thrilled that the Sports Forum have launched the bursaries again this year to assist our top athletes in competing and achieving success at a very high level within their sport, and I wish them every success with their future training and competition.”
The Sports Forum have created the Sports Bursaries for athletes who have the capacity to compete and achieve success at a very high level within their sport. Their aim is to support competitors of proven ability whose ranking is judged against Irish, British, European and World standards and indicates potential to compete with credit at international level or with distinction in British and Irish Championships.
The bursary award levels are broken down into three sections; Development, Top Up and Ambassador Awards. The Sports Forum will assign a budget for each level of award, however not all applicants who meet the set criteria may receive awards due to financial limitations.
An application form and further details are also available HERE. The closing date for receipt of applications is 5.00pm on Friday 15 November 2019.
For more information please contact Laura O’Hagan, Sports Development Assist T: 028 40660637 E: