Last chance to make a splash at the Milton Keynes Dragon Boat Festival on Sunday 19th June!

With just a few weeks to go until Willen Lake in Milton Keynes reverberates to the sound of beating drums, there is still time to get your team together and join in the fun!

The Dragon Boat Festival celebrates its 15th anniversary on Sunday 19th June and around half the teams that take part each year are new, so why not join them on the start line next month.

Sharron Thompson from Computacenter, explains why they are taking part, “Our mixed team of women and men will be made up of the staff who work in our Milton Keynes office where we have our largest UK call centre. The Dragon Boat Festival is a fantastic opportunity to bring everyone together for a team bonding experience and to provide a day out for the staff and their families. We make this a big event for our guys with a BBQ and fun and games for all”.

The teams who took part in last year’s Dragon Boat Festival raised a magnificent total of over £22,000 for official charity Age UK Milton Keynes. By entering a Silver team, Computacenter will be making a £500 donation directly to the Milton Keynes charity. This is a critical time for older people in our community. All funds raised by the crews will help this amazing local charity to provide vital services that reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness amongst some of the most vulnerable people in the borough.

The dragon boats, qualified helms and all racing equipment are provided by the race organisers and each crew is guaranteed a minimum of three races. No previous experience is needed to take part in the dragon boat racing, just plenty of team spirit and enthusiasm. Medals and trophies for the top three crews, top mixed crew and the ‘best dressed’ crew are up for grabs. The top fundraising crew will also receive a £300 voucher towards a celebratory meal at the Swan at Salford – a great incentive!

As well as the dragon boat racing, crews and their families will be able to enjoy a whole variety of bankside entertainment including a funfair, children’s activities, giant inflatables, food stalls - and even a special flypast by a Spitfire from the Battle of Britain Memorial flight! The 2016 Milton Keynes Dragon Boat Festival is supported by local community radio MKFM.

For further information and an entry form visit: www.dragonboatfestivals.co.uk/miltonkeynes or call Gable Events on 01780 470 718. For information about Age UK Milton Keynes visit www.ageukmiltonkeynes.org.uk or call 01908 550700

Dragon boat teams stick their oars in for Age UK Milton Keynes!

With just a couple of months to go until the annual Milton Keynes Dragon Boat Festival, places are still available for budding paddlers.

Companies, clubs and organisations from across the region are getting their teams together ready to do battle on the waters of Willen Lake on Sunday 19th June.

David Burchell, Managing Director of Lanes Sales & Rentals in Milton Keynes explains why his team keeps coming back for more. “It is undoubtedly MK’s best event. We enter predominately as a fun day out and for team building. Of course it will also raise our company profile and allow some networking on the day. It’s a great day and everyone enjoys the atmosphere. What other sporting event can you warm up for with a burger in one hand and beer in the other!”

For some companies it’s the thrill of the competition that draws them to the event, for others it’s more about a fun day out for staff and the opportunity to raise vital funds for a fantastic local charity.

Last year, over £22,000 was raised for Festival charity Age UK Milton Keynes and the teams have a very special incentive to raise as much money as possible thanks to The Swan at Salford.

Frazer Sutherland, representing Peach Pubs who run The Swan, comments, “The 15th MK Dragon Boat Festival is going to be a fantastic day out for all the family with the excitement of the racing and all the fun that goes with it, and we’re adding our voice to the organisers’ call for as many people as possible to get a crew together and see if they can win. Age UK Milton Keynes is a great local cause and we look forward to serving a feast to the winning crew back at the pub.”

This is a critical time for older people in the community and Age UK Milton Keynes provides vital services that help to reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness amongst the 14,000 local people and their families that they support every year.

To take part in the dragon boat racing and help raise money for Age UK Milton Keynes, no previous experience is required, just plenty of team spirit and enthusiasm! The dragon boats, qualified helms and all racing equipment are provided and each crew is guaranteed a minimum of three races. There will also be a variety of bankside entertainment to enjoy such as funfair rides, children’s activities, food stalls and even a spectacular flypast from a Battle of Britain Spitfire! The Dragon Boat Festival is supported by MKFM.

For further information and an entry form visit: www.dragonboatfestivals.co.uk/miltonkeynes or call Gable Events on 01780 470 718. For information about Age UK Milton Keynes visit www.ageukmiltonkeynes.org.uk or call 01908 550700

Local companies get fired up for the Milton Keynes Dragon Boat Festival!

Companies, clubs and organisations from across the region have been getting their teams together and signing up to take part in this year’s eagerly anticipated Milton Keynes Dragon Boat Festival in aid of Age UK Milton Keynes. With just over two months to go until the entry deadline, the race is now on to enter a team and guarantee a place on the start line at Willen Lake on Sunday 19th June!

The Dragon Boat Festival attracts up to 60 companies each year - a complete mix of new and returning crews and all with the same aim in mind - to enjoy a fabulous day out with colleagues and friends. One of the early entrants to take up the challenge this year after their successful first-time appearance in 2015 was Milton-Keynes Top 10 accountancy firm Mazars. Crew Manager, Claire Thompson explains the Festival’s unique appeal, “Mazars entered the Dragon Boat Festival for the first time last year as a team building event and had such a good day that we had to enter again! The day gives our staff the opportunity to get to know colleagues from other parts of the business so that we can work together more cohesively. We will be raising money for Age UK Milton Keynes again this year and aim to beat the £461 we raised last time. We will be putting out a mixed team that includes a serious triathlete and several competitive runners - so watch out!”

With teams coming from all corners of Milton Keynes and surrounding areas, the inter-company rivalry is definitely building. Other early entrants include eight Gold and Silver teams representing BSH Home Appliances (two teams), Topdrill Ltd, EDW Technology Ltd, SMC Pneumatics Ltd, Computacenter, Makita UK Ltd and Fibrefab plus Standard entries from Lanes Sales and Rentals, Braai Shack, Rexam, Altodigital (two teams), Choice Support, Hewitsons, Schueco UK, Knorr-Bremse and Age UK Milton Keynes as well as five teams from Kuehne + Nagel. The enhanced Gold and Silver entry packages include the profile and fundraising benefits of the company’s logo on each side of a dragon boat as well as a significant donation to Age UK Milton Keynes and, with only ten available, the race is on to secure the two remaining Gold/Silver entries.

Festival charity Age UK Milton Keynes is looking forward to supporting and promoting the fundraising activities of the competing teams that raise vital funds for their services. This is a critical time for older people in the community and Age UK Milton Keynes needs to be able to offer support to those who are the most isolated and lonely, many of whom are in their eighties and nineties or even older. There are ever-increasing pressures on these resources and the demand will continue to grow as we all move towards later life.

The top fundraisers for Age UK Milton Keynes will win the Charity trophy plus a £300 voucher towards a celebratory meal kindly donated by The Swan at Salford.

To take part in the dragon boat racing and help raise money for Age UK Milton Keynes, no previous experience is required, just plenty of team spirit and enthusiasm! The dragon boats, qualified helms and all racing equipment are provided and each crew is guaranteed a minimum of three races. There will also be a variety of bankside entertainment to enjoy such as funfair rides, children’s activities, food stalls and even a spectacular flypast from a Battle of Britain Spitfire!

For further information and an entry form visit: www.dragonboatfestivals.co.uk/miltonkeynes or call Gable Events on 01780 470 718. For information about Age UK Milton Keynes visit www.ageukmiltonkeynes.org.uk or call 01908 550700

Sit in a boat - imagine you’re racing across Willen Lake!

The 15th Milton Keynes Dragon Boat Festival will be staged at Willen Lake on Sunday 19th June 2016. Shoppers visiting intu Milton Keynes on Saturday 20th March were invited to try out a 30 ft wooden dragon boat, strictly on dry land. And there were plenty of takers. Dragon boat racing for real is an exhilarating experience and local companies have found that it is an excellent way to give employees a fabulous team-building day.

Paul Griffiths and Michelle Turnbull of local independent charity Age UK Milton Keynes were on hand to answer questions about the event in June.

As well as competing for the champions’ trophy, each crew of 16, plus drummer, is encouraged to raise funds for Age UK Milton Keynes, a charity that works with and for older people to make a real and positive difference to their wellbeing and quality of life. Money raised from the Milton Keynes Dragon Boat Festival will help provide practical and emotional support that reduces feelings of isolation and loneliness among older people throughout the borough of Milton Keynes. Every year the local independent charity helps over 14,000 people and their families. Without the vital funds raised through events such as the Milton Keynes Dragon Boat Festival this would not be possible.

Sixteen organisations – all of whom took part in last year’s event - have already signed up to race in June. Why not encourage colleagues and friends to sign up to race. There is always space for new teams to enter.

For more information go to www.dragonboatfestivals.co.uk/miltonkeynes or call event organisers Gable Events on 01780 470 718.