Two hundred residents, a sunny Sunday afternoon, and a brand-new sports pavilion - it's fair to say Kingsgrove's first "Picnic on the Pitch" had all the right ingredients for a brilliant community get-together.
Hosted by Wantage Town Football Club at Kingsgrove's new multi-use games area, the event brought neighbours together for an afternoon of food, fun and friendly competition.
Games, Grub and Good Company
Children kept themselves busy with giant garden games from Oxfordshire Play Association, along with a popular bead keychain crafting activity from Soha. Meanwhile, plenty of residents settled in with picnics of their own, topped up with ice cream from Bretti's, coffee from JP & Me's van, and something a little stronger from Harry's Tipsy Mare mobile bar.
London-based Neighbourly Lab also joined the day, alongside one of the founders of Neya, a new app designed to help residents discover local events, meet like-minded neighbours, and find community groups nearby.
The Main Event: Dogs and Dress-Up
No community picnic is complete without a bit of competition, and this one delivered. The dog show, judged by the Mayor of Wantage, Councillor Dr Iain Cameron, saw Bonnie the Cocker Spaniel, Jeffrey the Wheaten Terrier, and Theo the Staffordshire Bull Terrier take home top honours across three categories, with every entrant going home with a voucher from Pets Corner, Wantage.
The children's fancy dress competition proved even trickier to judge, with princesses, superheroes and a rather convincing dragon finger puppet all in the running. Faced with an impossible decision, the Mayor called it a draw across the board, meaning every child took home a prize, courtesy of Preim.
A Community Effort
The afternoon wrapped up with a raffle, generously stocked with prizes from local businesses, raising funds for Sweatbox Youth Services, which supports young people across Kingsgrove and the wider Wantage area.
'A huge thanks go to Wantage Town Football Club for hosting, to Soha, Neighbourly Lab and Neya for joining in, to the volunteers who spread the word beforehand, and especially to the organising team – James Hodgson, Paul Gander, Zoe Norton, Tom Tracy and Mo Austin - for pulling it all together.'
Most of all, thank you to everyone who came along. The sense of community spirit across Kingsgrove that afternoon was impossible to miss, and we can't wait for the next one.
