“Rotary on the Wight held its annual Party on the Green at Eastern Gardens, Ryde on Saturday 2 August, this year celebrating the 100th anniversary of Rotary in Ryde and we were again blessed with excellent weather.
This family orientated community event, now in its fourteenth year, was sponsored by Ryde Town Council and Churchers Solicitors and Rotary received great support from Tesco Ryde and their Community Champion, Jan Gibson. We were pleased to welcome the Mayor of Ryde, Diana Conyers, who officially opened the event and was quick to acknowledge the significant support for the local community by Rotary in Ryde over the last 100 years. Diana was joined by Rotary on the Wight President, Maire Reeves, and Rotary Centenary Projects Lead, Mike Jukes, whose team organised Party on the Green and they said a few words about the Rotary Centenary Year and some of the other events that have taken place.
The entertainment began at 12.00 with an excellent 30 minutes Disney inspired song and dance show performed by Princess Belle and Spiderman courtesy of Origin Stories followed by a 60 minute walk about to meet the children and for photo opportunities. These were followed by the lovely Oyster Girls Morris Dancers, returning to Party on the Green for the third time, who performed two sets. Between these two performances we welcomed for the first time singer/guitarist Annie Horton who sang and played beautifully. The acts continued at pace with the nostalgic harmonies of the Boogie Woogie Sisters who stayed on after their set to sing with the ever popular Bembridge Ukulele Band. The final act was The Tuesdays who played a continuous set for over an hour and performed a great mixture of familiar hits from the 1960s onwards that got the audience and volunteers singing along.
Having been let down at short notice we were very happy to welcome Face Painter Jessica Lynch who displayed her excellent skills much to the delight of the children and some adults. We also had great support from Popping Pop Corn and The Events Co who provided The Noble Stead Bar. Rotary volunteers ran the barbecue and tea tent that did a roaring trade and the tombola and games tent. Rotarian James Harwood was the D.J. linking the performances and announcements throughout the day.
Although crowds were lower than in previous years Rotary still raised about £1300 for charity and most importantly the event was positively acknowledged by all the visitors, performers and volunteers – a genuine Ryde community event that we hope will continue for many more years.” — Mike Jukes, Rotary Centenary Projects Lead