Redmond Park was a riot of colour, music, dance and laughter last Sunday for the first ever Picnic in the Park. The park, dedicated to the memory of Major Willie Redmond, was donated by the Redmond family for the enjoyment of the children of Wexford. It more than fulfilled that brief last weekend. While parents basked in the sunshine on garden rugs and camping seats the children took over the park. "What to do first?", they asked. Wexford Arts Centre’s “Little Artists” team had them modelling clay and making bubble art; Red Moon Theatre's enclosure was jammed with budding artists painting, modelling and drawing; and ClubVitae took over a section of the playground with their wonderful gym for kids.
Myriad Dance's Deirdre Grant took a team of beautifully attired “fairies” up by the old pond to work on a dance performance in “Fairy Meadow”;Footworx Dance School put on a series of high energy performances that had the audience enthralled; John Philips and his Chos Tae Kwon do students impressed with a stunning demonstration that really emphasised the “art” in martial arts.
Meanwhile Menapians’ coach Catherine O’Connor was putting youngsters through their paces on the obstacle course while the Redmond Park Boules Club tried to win some young converts to this elegant sport. A highlight of the afternoon was the extremely witty O’Looney’s Punch & Judy Show – young and old loved this.
Throughout the afternoon MC and DJ Paul “Cullie” Cullen kept the show on the road, playing great music and dishing out loads of spot prizes. Mayor Davy Hynes spoke of the many happy days he spent in the park as a lad and how delighted he was to see the place so full of happy faces. Then it was over to r&b and funk outfit “the submersibles” to play out the day with a storming set that sent everyone home with a smile on their face.
Everything came together to make the first Picnic in the Park a real success. The Love Redmond Park people really rolled up their sleeves in the weeks preceding the event to get the place ready: they weeded, pruned, swept, sanded, painted, power-hosed, removed graffiti and collected litter. The previous weekend park was given a serious short back and sides by a work party from Wexford Christian Community Church. These guys, accompanied by some friends over from the USA, were absolutely fantastic. Committee member Nicola Donovan got on the town and collected a load of spot prizes from local businesses. On the day itself she acted as coordinator to ensure everything ran smoothly. The entertainers all gave their services free with all happy to sign up again for next year. The Civil Defence team arrived with their ambulance and stayed to the very end - thankfully they had a very quiet day! A team of bibbed volunteers stewarded, collected donations and picked up litter.
The Love Redmond Park people are looking on this first Picnic in the Park as part of an overall strategy to draw attention to the valuable resource that is Redmond Park. Events such as this cannot but make people look on it in a more positive light. They are very happy with the support they have received to date from Wexford Borough Council and An Garda Suiochana’s Community Policing division. Local press and radio have also played their part in getting behind the campaign.
If you have any good images from the Picnic in the Park consider submitting them to the
Love Redmond Park page on Facebook or via
redmondpark@gmail.com .
