Discover something new this half term! Wyre Council has put together a host of family friendly activities to keep everyone entertained.
On Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 October you can celebrate the birthday of Wyre’s famous windmill in Thornton. Marsh Mill will be throwing open its doors and there’ll be children’s activities, an exhibition and tours from 11am to 3pm both days.
Three special events are also being hosted in partnership with Lancashire Wildlife Trust and Living Seas North West. The first is Halloween crabbing on Monday 21 October from 1pm to 2.30pm. Get ready for a spooky crabbing session at Fleetwood Boating Lake! Meet at Dolly's Kiosks before heading down to find out about the creepy crabs lurking in the lake. Please bring nets, buckets and crabbing lines if you have them or crabbing lines will be available to buy from Dolly's Kiosks.
Then there are two Spooky Shark and Ray Eggcase Hunts with prizes to be won for those who collect the most! At least 21 species of skate, ray and shark are found in UK waters and you can collect the empty egg cases and discover what species may be laying their eggs in the Irish Sea. ID guides will be used to identify the species of egg case and the findings will be shared with The Shark Trust, who keep a record of UK finds. There’s no need to book, just dress appropriately for the weather. The first hunt is on Tuesday 22 October at Rossall Beach, meeting by the noticeboard on Rossall promenade and the second is on Friday 25 October at Fleetwood Beach, meeting by the Kite Club on the beach.
Also on Friday 25 October is a ‘day of the dead’ at Fleetwood Market. You will not want to miss this scarily exciting child friendly Halloween event. There will be lots of spooky fun inside the Main Hall where you will have a chance to meet two sugar skull skeletons roaming the aisles of the traditional market between 10am and 2pm or why not discover the pumpkin trail for your chance to win a mysterious prize! The trail will be a series of pumpkins scattered around the market halls where little adventurers can hunt to find them whilst answering a series of questions along the way. In the centre of the Main Hall there will be a chance to get your face painted and transformed into a colourful sugar skull between 9am and 3pm.
There will also be a fancy dress competition on the day so make sure the children turn up in a Halloween outfit for a chance of winning £50 worth of Fleetwood Market shopping vouchers. We will be choosing one lucky winner! The market has plenty to offer for the little ones with three different cafes onsite for hot food, sweet stalls, toy stalls and many more. Families will be spoilt for choice!
There’s also a Halloween pumpkin carve on Saturday 26 October at Memorial Park in Fleetwood. Come along to the pavilion for a day of Halloween fun! There’s free pumpkin carving from 11am until 1pm (first come first served), scary face painting and glitter tattoos, a creepy crawly roadshow, spooky crafts and a scary lucky dip. Tea, coffee and hot chocolate will be served by the Friends Volunteers. There will be a small charge for individual activities as the Friends of the Memorial Park are fundraising.
Throughout the week Wyre Council will also be hosting a pumpkin roadshow across the borough to squash the habit of throwing away the pumpkin flesh taken out for carving. In the UK 18,000 tonnes of edible pumpkin end up being dumped each year, the equivalent weight of 1,500 double decker buses! We will show you how a pumpkin can be a fruit of the season, not just one for decoration.
There will be pumpkin carvings as well as demonstrations on how you can transform your pumpkin guts into delicious food for the whole family. Come along to the roadshow at the following locations:
Monday 21 Oct – Preesall playing fields, Sandy Lane 10am - 2pm
Tuesday 22 Oct – Wyre Estuary Country Park 10am - 2pm
Thursday 24 Oct – Catterall Village Hall 10am – 2pm
Friday 25 Oct – Poulton town centre 10am – 2pm
Saturday 26 Oct – Memorial Park, Fleetwood 10am- 2pm
Thornton YMCA also have events running throughout the holidays. Their Sports Camp is running from 21 October to 25 October where children aged five to 12 can enjoy multi sports and craft activities from £18 per day.
On Saturday 26 October, YMCA Bowl at Thornton YMCA is hosting the annual Family Halloween party from 6pm to 7pm. Come along and enjoy bowling in the UV glow! There’ll be gruesome games and fancy dress is essential. There’s also teen fright night on Sunday 27 October tickets for both parties are £8. Visit the YMCA's website or call 01253 824108 to book your places or to find out more.
To find out more about these events follow Wyre Council on Facebook or go to www.discoverwyre.co.uk