A brand-new celebration of sport, games and community spirit is being launched on the Island this summer, helping to raise money for Island charities.
The Wight Games Festival, which will take place from June to August right across the Island, is described as a “joyful mash-up of traditional sports, games and quirky activities” – bringing together everything from sailing, cricket and tennis to chess, a colouring competition and even wonderfully ridiculous competitions like ‘welly wanging’, created especially for the event.
From Roman-era board games at Brading Roman Villa and Quizzy Bingo with Mountbatten Isle of Wight to indoor Curling and Darts with the WI, there is a ton of fun to be had this summer.
Designed as an all-inclusive celebration, the Festival aims to create something for everyone – whether you are a club regular, complete beginner or just keen to try something new. From minds to muscles, it’s sport for every kind of wellbeing.
The festival is the creation of Mike Christie, known for his hugely successful annual Wight Proms Festival which started in 2018 and which is still going strong. Mike is also famed for his highly accomplished acting, composing, singing and songwriting career, often while touring as part of multi-platinum selling music group G4. He is proud to call Cowes and the Island his home, and he recently announced he will also be launching a sushi café in Cowes this summer called The Bath House on Park Road.
Mike said:
“It gives me enormous joy to give something back to the Island community. The Isle of Wight is packed with extraordinary clubs, groups and individuals doing brilliant things and this Festival is our chance to showcase that incredible variety.
Article continues below this advertisement “I wanted to create something where absolutely everyone can take part in something that interests them, whether it’s a traditional sport they already love or something completely unexpected that they haven’t even tried before.
“It’s about rethinking what we see as a ‘sport’, making the Festival fully accessible, bringing people together and, at the same time, raising money for three extremely important local charities who do amazing work on our Island.”
Free to enter, the Festival will encourage donations throughout with all funds raised shared equally between Mountbatten Isle of Wight, Independent Arts and the Isle of Wight NHS Trust charity. Details of participating clubs and events will be revealed in the run up to the summer event and on the Wight Games Festival website www.wightgames.co.uk where people are simply asked to RSVP to register their interest in whatever sport or activity they would like to take part in.
Organisers hope the inaugural Festival will become an annual fixture on the Island calendar, celebrating the diversity, creativity and community spirit that makes the Isle of Wight so special.
