wigton youth

Rory has met with some of the organisers of Wigton’s ‘Something for the Summer’ event, a music and arts festival organised by and for local young people at the Wigton Market Hall.

‘Something for the Summer’, which takes place on September 17th, will be a day-long event including local bands, entertainment and a community-run barbecue. It has developed from the Your Square Mile event that was held in Wigton earlier this year, at which young people identified a need to be more involved in community events. A steering group of ten young people emerged to organise the event. They have since liaised with the local police regarding safety issues, obtained
sponsorship from local businesses, including Innovia, and national schemes such as O2 ‘Think Big’, presented to school assemblies, and arranged all the event’s logistics.

Rory, pictured with Harley Young and Sam Massey, both youth and community workers from the Wigton Youth Station, and Abbie Rear, a local young resident of Wigton who is involved in the steering group, said: “Young people should always have a say in the shaping of their communities. This year has seen some important milestones in youth work, including of course the launch of National Citizen Service, with its strong emphasis on community involvement and social action. It’s wonderful to know that the youth of Wigton have really taken the initiative to create this important event, which will draw together young people, their families, local businesses, and voluntary organisations. It’s a real pleasure to support Something for the Summer, and I’m enormously impressed at how brilliantly they have organised this. I hope it’s an event in Wigton that is here to stay.”