New Years Eve saw Let’s Play Sligo launch its programme for 2022 with a suite of street games chalked into the pavement at Tobergal Lane, Sligo.
Lets Play Sligo
Let’s Play Sligo
Throughout the day, children, taken by surprise seeing these games, hopped, skipped and jumped their way through the space amid laughter and cheers from their parents.
The initiative was organised by the Let’s Play Sligo URBACT Local Group (ULG) whose members are drawn from the Sligo County Council, Sligo Sports and Recreation Partnership, County Childcare committee, Sligo BID, Sligo Tidy Towns, Healthy Sligo, the Age Friendly Program, Sligo PPN as well as the County Library and the Cranmore Regeneration Project are key components of the group also.
This Saturday, the 12th March, Let's Play Sligo are teaming up with the Sligo Sports and Recreation Partnership to host another playful afternoon in Tobergal Lane. This time we will have play experts explain and encourage use of the games. We will have physical games such as GIANT Connect 4 and GIANT Jenga as well chalk games on the pavement!
Join us for a fun filled afternoon in sunny (let’s hope!) Tobergal Lane and enjoy and experience our beautiful town centre and riverside.
The Let's Play Sligo concept stems from an EU - URBACT initiative which sees a ‘Transfer Network’ in Ireland sharing good practice in sustainable urban development between cities and towns. Sligo is one of five towns learning best practice from lead city Cork on how to develop and enhance a playful culture on it streets and within the community.
Let's Play Sligo want to bring more of this to streets of Sligo. Gail McGibbon, CEO of Sligo BID said:
“We are very excited to be working with Sligo County Council in rolling out this URBACT initiative in Sligo through a series of events and projects related to play. Our participation in this URBACT initiative will be a great opportunity to develop play and placemaking activities in the town while encouraging people to spend longer in the town and repeat the experience. Sligo ULG hopes to run a number of events and projects over the next year, bringing play to the fore for people of all ages in Sligo”.
The Let's Play initiative responds directly to issues raised in the recent PPN county-wide wellbeing consultation which highlighted the need to enhance the experience of being in town for young people and families. The Let's Play Sligo initiative, combined with a range of other responses will help to improve the experience of Sligo town for residents, shoppers and the wider community and bring a bit of fun back to the town centre.
Dorothy Clarke, Director of Services, Sligo County Council, said:
“Sligo County Council is excited to be involved this URBACT initiative and to be given an opportunity to learn best practice lessons from its partners. Let’s Play Sligo will involve small-scale actions which will build collaborative relationships with community stakeholders and increase the opportunities for play in the town. The group will also aim to increase the community’s engagement with and sense of ownership of Sligo’s streets and spaces. This is particularly important in the context of the major public realm transformation planned for Sligo as a result of the significant URDF investment announced last year”.
For more information on URBACT go to: https://urbact.eu/playful-paradigm-0
