Rafts come in all shapes and sizes.
When: 1st & 2nd July 2017
Where: Hove Lawns, Brighton & Hove
£: Free admission, but donations welcome. It costs £25 (plus sponsorship) to take part in the Paddle Something Unusual event. Some of the other competitions during the weekend also carry a fee.
What is it?
Paddle Round The Pier, the world’s biggest free charity beach festival, is back on Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd July.
The first event was held back in 1996, organised by a group of local surfers wanting to raise funds and awareness for the charity, Surfers Against Sewage.
The Paddle Round The Pier is a mass sponsored paddle, with people taking to the water in every type of craft from surfboards, windsurf-boards, bodyboards and kitesurf-boards, to canoes, kayaks, swim fins, and lilos.
There will be a packed program of water and land events over the weekend, including a ‘Paddle Village’ full of retail, exhibitions and entertainment stages, all based on Hove Lawns.
Paddling pirates.
The main event, the Paddle Round The Pier, takes place on the Sunday at 2pm, but another crowd pleaser is the Paddle Something Unusual event at 12pm.
For this event, teams attempt to paddle the most ridiculous thing they can think of, around the remains of the West Pier. In the past, brave (or crazy) teams have attempted to paddle beds, sheds and aeroplanes across the water.
Other sporting events taking place this year include the Dragon SUP Races, Sit-on-top Kayak Races, and open water swimming events.
Back on dry land there will be the SUP (Sit Up Paddle) Games, which everyone is welcome to take part in. There’ll be SUP polo, jousting and tug of war games, all taking place in a large paddling pool in the Paddle Village. There will also be slalom skating competitions, a lecture theatre with talks on surfing and beach safety, and a beach sports arena with sandcastle competitions, volleyball and tennis taking place.
There will be three entertainment stages at this year’s event, the Ukulele Stage, Music Stage and Kid’s Stage, with a host of live music and children’s entertainment on offer over the weekend.
More info: www.paddleroundthepier.com and www.facebook.com/PaddleRoundThePier