Norden Farm's Kite Festival was on today and GoodGym was on hand to help out all day from start until the end.

Act 1: Sol joined the first shift helping with the set up which included unloading and assembling tables, chairs and wind banners. She did a round of litter pick around the site as well.

Act 2: Diya and Kanika got to escort Nordenia, the queen of Norden Farm, around the park. She has grown much taller in this past year! They then litter picked around the site, enjoying the multitude of kites dotting the sky (and the ground). Another round with Nordenia and some more litter pick ended their shift.

Act 3: Roberta and Sheila took up the mantle of Nordenia escorting and litter picking. They spotted another GoodGymmer Lisa who was around in Norden Farm's yellow rather than GG red helping out on the day as well. Angela got the very tough task (no, seriously) of guarding the separate area for professional kite fliers. She spent her entire shift baking in the sun!

Act 4: Georgeta joined Sheila to help with the end of day take down. It wasn't easy as nobody wanted to leave with the weather being so good and warm. They managed to get some gazebos packed up and litter picked the site one final time. And Georgeta took some beautiful close-ups of a few stunning kites.

An absolutely brilliant event that we love supporting and great to see it be such a success!

2 goodgymers answered the call from Norden Farm to deliver leaflets about their family events to homes in the area. And it was raining. A lot. And I forgot to take a photo until home!🤣

An incredible 11 Goodgymmers turned out to help our friends from Norden Farm with their annual Community Lantern Parade. The Parade is a celebration of community and the arts and encourages local people to get together, creating fantastic artwork, dancing and parading their fabulous creations through Maidenhead town centre. And it didn't disappoint! This year the theme was Take Flight, and the lanterns were all bird and insect-themed. We welcomed Alison to her first Goodgym task, and we were put to work straight away, putting out the sticks containing the lights and batteries, ready for the lanterns. In the preceding weeks, Norden Farm had held workshops at schools for children to make their own lanterns. These then needed to be fixed on to the sticks, the LED light put in inside and the battery connected up for the children to carry. There were whole flocks of seagulls, cockatoos, magpies, parrots, blue tits, woodpeckers, bullfinches and robins. And a swarm of bees. The excitement grew as the entertainment started, and we were treated to fire-eaters and stilt walkers as well as music from the magnificent Dhol Drummers. The giant Nodenia puppet also made an appearance , this time sporting an Advent crown. And then we were off! We all grabbed either some of the larger show lanterns or spare lanterns, and joined the back of the parade.. It was amazing to see all the lanterns bobbing along the streets, all in time to the music provided by the Dhol Drummers and Babel Brass Band. A strong wind provided some challenge to keep some of the larger lanterns under control, but Goodgym were up to the job! There was a great atmosphere, and there was a good turnout of people to watch the parade. It was lovely to be part of such a fun and joyful community event

After the fun lantern parade, Sheila, Angela, Matthew, Scarlett, Jen and Kanika stayed back to help clear up.

We helped collect and sort out the lights by colour, and then grabbed litter pickers to do a repeat of the route to make sure no rubbish was left behind.

10 of us met at the community centre wrapped up ready for the chilly night ahead. We were tasked with distributing approx 425 leaflets promoting the upcoming lantern parade (organised by Norden Farm) around the St Lukes and Grenfell areas. We split off into 3 teams and were all done within an hour! Jess and Nicola even got their december daily dashing done, they only had to add on a few laps of Kidwells park at the end! Well done everyone!

4 Goodgymmers went to help out at Norden Farm Kite Festival, a wonderful free event held at Boyn Grove Park. The weather was lovely and warm, with just a touch of a breeze, which brought in the crowds. Families could either bring their own kite or make their own on site. It was lovely to see so many children running around with their kites, and with a full program of music of different genres, and lots of food stalls, there was something for everyone. A particular highlight was the Dhol collective, a team of dhol drummers who really brought high energy to the afternoon, getting everyone bhangra dancing. Anne was tasked with litter-picking around the site, although everyone was being very good and using the bins provided. Gillian and Sheila were minders for the giant puppet called Nordenia, who is the Spirit of Norden Farm. She was worn by a performer called Nisha, with 2 young leaders working her arms. Our job was make she was safe on her walkabouts, and to carry the sound system. The children were fascinated by her, although some were a little bit more apprehensive! In between walkabouts Sheila and Gillian joined in with the ceilidh dancing with music by Cut a Shine. At the end of the afternoon, Kelley did some litterpicking and then joined Sheila in taking down the bunting and gazebos, and generally tidy up the site to return its original state. It was great to be part of such an amazing event, and the organisers have extended their thanks to everyone who helped out.