A landmark number of 50 events has been confirmed for the not-for-profit Wight Games Festival, which is set to take place throughout June, July and August.
Supporting 3 Island charities, including Mountbatten IW, Independent Arts and the IW NHS Trust Charity, the event will take place across lots of different sports and venues.
Mike Christie, the G4 singing group member and Cowes resident, devised the festival to support 3 charities and to bring fun and games to the Isle of Wight this summer season.
Mike, who recently announced he will also be launching a sushi cafe in Cowes later this summer called The Bath House, is also known for his hugely successful annual Wight Proms Festival, which started in 2018 and which is still going strong, along with his highly accomplished acting, composing, singing and song-writing career.
Events ranging from croquet in Ryde to welly-wanging at the Royal IW County Show will give Islanders the chance to try something new this year, all while raising money for local good causes.
Events include Quizzy Bingo at Mountbatten, Roman Board Games at Brading Roman Villa, Rummikub at the IW Alzheimer Café in Cowes. If you are looking for something more sporty and competitive, tennis, pickleball, and sailing are among the traditional sports on offer during the festival.
Mike said:
“We are so pleased that we now have more than 50 events on the website. The huge range of fun sports and games means there is something for everyone.
“Our slogan is Ready, Steady, Wight! And we hope that the Island will support the good causes and use the festival to go outside their comfort zone to try something they perhaps would never have thought of doing.”
“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.
“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.”
With the festival being free to enter, all funds raised will be shared equally between Mountbatten Isle of Wight, Independent Arts and the Isle of Wight NHS Trust Charity. Donations can be made here.
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.
