August 05, 2020 - 858 views
Playday is the national day for play, traditionally held on the first Wednesday in August and it returns again to Colwyn Bay and Conwy county today.
It is the biggest play sector event in the UK, and possibly Europe! As well as a celebration of children’s right to play, Playday is a campaign that highlights the importance of play in children’s lives.
Due to the pandemic it is all being held online for the very first time
Conwy County Borough Council’s Play Development team, together with a range of other organisations, will be sharing lots of activities on their social media pages throughout the day.
This year’s theme for Playday is Everyday Freedoms Everyday Adventures.
The Play Development Team’s social media accounts at: www.facebook.com/ConwyPlayDevelopment , www.twitter.com/conwyplay and www.instagram.com/conwyplay will have information and there’s also a useful list of some of the things to have ready, like paper, glue, tape and chalk, to take part in the day’s activities.
The aim of Playday is to highlight the importance of play in children’s lives, and the Playday 2020 theme aims to highlight the importance of giving children and teenagers the freedom to play and have everyday adventures.
Back in 1986, rumours were rife of imminent cuts on school-based play centres and adventure playgrounds in London. In response, a group of playworkers called a meeting to see what they could do.
Not many turned up, but unperturbed Mick Conway, Paul Bonel and Kim Holdaway put their heads together and came up with the notion of having a day for play.
Their initial aims were to raise the profile of play and alert people locally to the potential loss of children’s play services. They had no idea that it would become anything more than an inner London campaign to persuade boroughs to continue to support playgrounds and play centres.
From just a couple of events in 1987, Playday grew to around a dozen in London by 1989, went national in 1991 and is now the biggest celebration of children’s play in the UK, if not Europe.
Last year communities across the UK celebrated Playday at more than 850 events.
For information about Playday visit: www.playday.org.uk
