Xfest pulls in the crowds

Saturday 24th June saw crowds flocking to Shipston High School playing fields to enjoy a host of free activities in this year’s ‘Xfest’ event. 1000 people registered on arrival making it the biggest ‘Xfest’ event so far.

Organised by Shipston Youth Club, it is run every two years and has become a popular fixture in Shipston’s calendar.  Queues formed from the start of the day for the opportunity to climb ‘Spider Mountain’, have a go at Zorb ball walking, navigate on a Segway or scale a climbing wall. Several young local musicians provided the crowds with music for the day and the burger stall ran out of burgers and raised over £1,500 towards the cost of the event in the process.

A new focus this year were activities for younger families and, among the other attractions, face painting, balloon modelling and the bouncy castle proved a hit.

Daniel Pulham, chair of the Youth Club Management Committee, said “It is so encouraging to see yet another community event taking root in Shipston. After so many people have put in so much work to make this possible it was fantastic to see so many coming along and enjoying themselves’.

“The great thing about Xfest is that all the activities are free and that makes it possible for all to enjoy and join in. It would not have been possible without the help of an organising team from Shipston’s Baptist Church and we have once again benefited from grants from both the Town Council and the County Council to which the 1000 strong crowd owe a huge thank you!”