Market Square comes alive with fun events for families

A MERRY-GO-ROUND, bouncy castle and mosaicked throne were just some of the fun activities drawing islanders to Market Square for the family fun-themed weekend.

Louisa Le Gallais, 6, and brother Axel, 5, enjoyed the bouncy castle, glitter tattoos, The Accidental Zoo and a close encounter with Darth Vader. (Pictures by Adrian Miller, 28483122)

Coming to see what all the fuss was about, families ventured into Town both on Saturday and yesterday to check out what was happening in and around the Market building and were met with art and crafts of every variety, alongside stalls of knick-knacks for every magpie and gift-hunter.

Axel, 5, and Louisa Le Gallais, 6, had fun throughout and said they really liked their new tattoos.

‘The bouncy castle was fun,’ said Louisa.

‘Then we got glitter tattoos and saw The Accidental Zoo – they brought a snake and tortoise and lizard.’

‘My tattoo’s of a dinosaur,’ added Axel.

‘It’s cool and I really liked seeing the animals.’

‘I need a wipe now,’ said Archie Howlett, 3, who got a bit messy tiling the mosaic throne brought to the event by Iris & Dora. (28483128)

There were several performances across the weekend, with the likes of the Guernsey Arts Commission-sponsored live music, Sprinkle of Magic’s Darth Vader, Rapunzel and Spider-Man paying a visit and the Guille-Alles Library joining in with a reading session.

Iris & Dora brought their own throne to the party, allowing kids and big kids alike to get their hands mucky and mosaic it with colourful tiles.

Archie Howlett, 3, really enjoyed getting stuck in until it got time to clean up.

‘I love it,’ he said. ‘I need a wipe now.’

Luca Pinsard, 4, left and Solomon Bearder, 7, helped with the mosaic throne. (28483126)

Iris & Dora’s co-founder, Denyse McGahy, said they had been so busy they had run out of wipes as people got their hands dirty.

‘It’s really therapeutic, so people have really got into it,’ she said.

‘You’ll see children come forward to get involved, but then it’s the parents, just as much as the children, who want to decorate the throne.

‘Everyone’s had a really good go at it and had fun in the process and they’ll be able to see their hard work put on show as it will become a permanent feature in the Market building.’

Many of the island’s charities had also set up a stall to raise funds for the work they do, including the GSPCA, the Sarah Groves Foundation and Smile for Georgie.

As well as the things to do, Market Square was filled with stalls. (28483118)

Becky Chandler was helping to raise money for the Sarah Groves Foundation through a bucket collection and a pedal on the bikes they brought down with them.

‘It’s been a good turnout and everything’s going well,’ she said.

‘We won’t know how much we’ve raised until the end of the day, but people have been really generous and everyone looks to be having a good time here, which is great.’