THOUSANDS ACROSS THE REGION TO TAKE ON NEW-LOOK GUNG-HO! AS WORLD’ S BIGGEST INFLATABLE OBSTACLE COURSE RETURNS TO KENT
THIRD DOUBLE HEADER TOUR FOR CELEBRATED YOUNG KENT SINGER SONGWRITER LUKE JACKSON & GRAMMY WINNING AMY WADGE
Acclaimed young singer songwriter Luke Jackson is to join forces for the third time with Cardiff’ s Amy Wadge for what promises to be a dazzling double header UK tour in the New Year.
Between January
9th-31st, Luke will tour England and Wales with Amy, known for her winning songwriting collaboration with“ Britain’ s hottest pop star” Ed Sheeran. She and Sheeran, having reached No 1 in the official UK chart with“ Thinking out Loud” which went platinum, won the coveted Song of the Year at the 2016 Grammys. The global smash hit was the first song to celebrate a whole year in the Top 40.
Jackson, the widely acclaimed 22 year-old singer songwriter from Kent, has recently played dates in Scotland, Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands while in 2015 there was no doubting his versatility when he supported one of Britain’ s most successful rock bands, Marillion, on a UK and European tour.
BECOME A VOLUNTEER READING HELPER IN 2017 AND MAKE A LASTING DIFFERENCE TO A CHILD’ S LIFE
Thrill-seekers will hit speeds of up to 40MPH on Europe’ s tallest inflatable slide which has been transformed for when the world’ s biggest inflatable obstacle course returns to Kent in 2017.
Up to 5,000 runners at Gung-Ho!, at Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown, on Saturday 3rd June, will fly down the five-storey-high, 200ft-long Thriller after organisers added water to the fun-filled inflatable – an act inspired by a wet weekend in Manchester in 2016.
The ten inflatables – including three which make their debut in 2017 – will be filled with enough air to pump up more than 100 million footballs, making it the biggest course of its kind anywhere on the planet.
Cbeebies presenter Alex Winters, the brains behind the event, said:“ As soon as last year’ s visit had come to an end I knew I wanted to bring Gung-Ho! back to Kent. Everyone was so up for Gung-Ho! and helped make it one of our best events yet.
With many runners taking part for charity in 2016, thousands of pounds are expected to be raised for good causes this time around. Participants can go Gung-Ho! in aid of the race’ s national charity partner BBC Children in Need, who are offering discounted tickets and a free t-shirt to those who run as part of Team Pudsey, via www. bbc. co. uk / Pudsey.
Tickets and more information are available at www. begung-ho. co. uk.
Beanstalk – a national literacy charity – is searching for members of the community across Kent and Medway to volunteer as Reading Helpers in local primary schools in a bid to raise literacy levels in 2017 and to inspire confidence in struggling and reluctant readers.
By starting the New Year as a Beanstalk reading helper, volunteers will provide a child with the gift of reading, having a life-changing impact on their ability, confidence, and self-esteem.
“ In the last academic year 42 % of children in Kent did not reach the expected standard in reading in the new SATS in Kent,” explains Malou Bengsston-Wheeler, area manager at Beanstalk for Kent and Medway.“ Our aim at Beanstalk is to support schools to address the problem by providing 1:1 support for pupils who struggle with reading to prevent them from getting left behind.”
Volunteering as a Beanstalk reading helper is extremely rewarding, makes a lasting difference to children’ s lives and is a great way to give something back to your local community. So if you are able to spare three hours a week, why not make this your resolution for the year?
To find out more about volunteering as a Reading Helper in primary schools in Kent and Medway contact the Maidstone office on 01622 662026 or apply via the website www. beanstalkcharity. org. uk.
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