CHRISTMAS AT CREGGAN COUNTRY PARK

30 November 2006

Despite a very busy schedule, Santa has officially confirmed that he will be making a special visit to Creggan Country Park this December. The park, part funded by the European Union through the Interegg IIIa initiative, Proteus and the Peace and Reconciliation programme, will be hosting various events over Christmas.

Santa will fly in on Saturday 9th December and will leave again on Sunday 10th December 2006 with activities starting at 1pm each day. Unfortunately it’s a bit too cold for Santa to sit outside so all activities will be indoors. Advance booking is essential. Santa’s visit kicks off a series of events coming up at the park during December includingthe 2006 Excellence Awards and annual Fishing Competition.

The Excellence Awards focus on celebrating the achievements of those who have gained a new skill at the park in the last year and will be held this year on Sunday 17th December at 3.30pm. During the last year the imaginative training programme at Creggan Country Park has encompassed everything from sailing to child protection to festival survival training. Joanne Mullan, Watersports Instructor said “2006 has been the most successful year so far for our training programme with the highest number of trainees yet passing through our various courses. The skills they have gained will provide many of our trainees with a meaningful pathway to employment – and will allow all of them to become excellent in their chosen skill.” The park will be distributing invitations for the awards to participants in the next few days however limited places are also available for the general public.

The annual Fishing Competition will be held this year on Wednesday 27th December between 10am and 3.30pm. Anyone interested in taking part can simply turn up on the day and pay the registration fee (£12) at the Creggan Country Park reception. A selection of quality prizes will be available for heaviest trout caught. Boats are available to book in advance. Gift vouchers are also available to buy now for the event.

The fishing competition rounds off a highly successful year for the Country Park which has gone from strength to strength in 2006. The award winning community organisation which is part financed by the European Union has facilitated over 13,000 visitors in the last twelve months from throughout Ireland, 10,000 of which took part in watersports.

For more information, or to book for any of the events above, contact Creggan Country Park on 028 71 363 133 or visit www.creggancountrypark.com