Purbeck goes urban!

12 Jul 2010

Back by popular demand, ‘URBANISE street sports and arts festival’ is to be held on Wednesday 14th July, at The Purbeck School, Wareham.

“This is our second ‘URBANISE street sports and arts festival’ and we aim to hold many more in the lead up to the 2012 Games,’ explains Jo Gardner, RELAYS Cultural Co-ordinator at the Arts University College at Bournemouth.  “The organisation and delivery of this event has been supported by young people and is aimed at youth sporting culture, which includes skate boarding, free running, street soccer and the sub-cultures that surround it such as music, dance, fashion and graphic art.  We hope that this event will inspire and engage many young people, whether their interest is in sport or art and help them to see the ways in which they are linked.”

As well as the activities mentioned above the festival will consist of workshops skate boarding, street soccer, capoeira (an Afro-Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, music, and dance), street dance, DJ and beatboxing, graffiti and urban graphics.

Workshops will be running throughout the day, with approximately 280 Year 9 students from the Purbeck School taking part in the morning and 100 Year 8 middle school students.  The event will continue to run at the school from 4pm to 5pm to allow for young people from the surrounding area to also take part.

The festival has been awarded the ‘Inspire mark’ for a second time, the badge of the London 2012 Inspire Programme.  The London 2012 Inspire programme recognises innovative and exceptional projects that are directly inspired by the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Seb Coe, Chair, London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games said: “URBANISE street sports and arts festival is encouraging young people to fulfil their potential. I am proud that with the help of partners such as RELAYS we are delivering on our vision to use the power of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to boost participation in sport and the arts.”

Becky Travers, Extended Services Coordinator for the Purbeck Pyramid, said “The students from the school are extremely excited about the event.  The range of activities means that the festival is appealing to a wide range of students and the fact that it is running after school means that even more young people can get involved! This event will kick off the summer activities programme for the Purbeck area.”