Bounce into Summer

15 June 2026

At the end of May, the CRAG held their 3rd annual summer 'Family Fun Day' event at the Summit Centre. This was their biggest and most successful event yet, with an estimated 500 local people coming to join the fun and enjoy the sunshine!

For the last few months, the CRAG team has been hard at work getting local businesses and organisations involved and inviting different local live music acts to perform, including the Hucknall Ukelele Group and the Rollers Musical Group - the crowd had lots of fun singing along to Mamma Mia and other favourites.

There were 34 vendors, businesses, and organisations that attended the event, including the Kirkby East Family Hub, the Food Club, Inspire Libraries, Citizens Advice, Ashfield Creates, John Eastwood Hospice, Revive Counselling, Kirkby Rotary, and the Nottingham Forest Community Kicks Team. Lots of small, local businesses held a mix of indoor and outdoor stalls, many of which were at previous CRAG events and were eager to come along to this one, offering handmade crafts, jewellery, baked goods, toys and much more.

Stall holders were encouraged to provide free or low-cost activities for children which on the day included paper crafting, Play-Doh, a giant logo set and a very popular Circus Skills workshop delivered by Ashfield Creates. This has been a good strategy in previous CRAG events and proved to be very successful at this one, both in getting people to engage with the stalls and in creating a fun and lively atmosphere. The FLAG also held their own stall to share their information and recruit residents as previous events have shown that people travel from outside of a Ward to attend events.

The inflatables provided by Argyle Inflatables were also massive hit – who doesn’t love a bouncy castle! 

This event demonstrated the CRAG’s focus on SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) as a priority for this year, with spaces and activities set up for children and young people with neurodiversity, including sensory tents and a dedicated quiet area. This was very popular, and parents were grateful for the availability of this, with one parent saying that it allowed her child to stay at the event longer as he had a place to go when he felt overwhelmed rather than having to leave.

The CLEO Community Co-ordinator has a good connection with Carrie Austin from Wired Differently Sensory Seekers CIC (Community Interest Company, which conducts business for the benefit of the community, rather than purely for private financial gain).

Wired Differently Sensory Seekers CIC is a local organisation that advocates for people with neurodiversity through range of services, resources, and events, and she was happy to come along and put on a creative badge-making activity, while also providing an opportunity for parents to get information and advice about Neurodiversity support. Carrie has agreed to link into future events and activities delivered by the CRAG and other RAGs.

Some residents, understandably, weren’t aware that the Children’s Centre had become a Family Hub, that now offered support to families with children up 19 years old (or 25 if SEND). Staff from the Kirkby East Family Hub not only had a great time doing crafts with the children but were also able to chat with families about their extended services which many people found helpful.

Revive Counselling & Wellbeing CIC put on a mask decorating activity and held conversations with parents about their new counselling service moving into Kirkby which will support children, young people, and parents for various concerns including neurodiversity.

The response to this event was hugely positive from residents and vendors alike, with people from all walks of life coming together for a fun time and there were even some families who had brought their own picnics to enjoy the sunshine. The CRAG was grateful for everyone who supported the event in any way, with special thanks to Ashfield Creates for the funding granted through the Community Commissions.