Woodhouse Eaves Community Picnic 2026 Brings Sunshine, Smiles and Village Spirit
The Woodhouse and Woodhouse Eaves Good Neighbour Scheme hosted a joyful Community Picnic on 20 September, transforming the village green and Youth and Community Hall into a hub of sunshine, fun and neighbourly connection.
Throughout the afternoon a mix of ages brought their picnics, played games, spent time at the craft table and enjoyed the cake stall. Groups of friends either drank tea or wine, depending on their preference, as we whiled away the afternoon. Now in it’s 5th year the Community Picnic has become a staple in the village calendar and it’s a lovely, relaxed event where we encourage people to come together and spend the afternoon with friends and neighbours in a time where there is no agenda, cost pressure or schedule.
The cake stall quickly became the most popular spot of the afternoon, offering an irresistible selection of bakes contributed by talented local volunteers. From sponges to traybakes and some delicious Italian treats, it was a celebration of baking at its best and I definitely ate more cake that could be recommended! Thank you to everyone who contributed with their time and efforts baking.
There was also a raffle, adding some delight and additional fundraising for the Good Neighbour Scheme’s ongoing work in our villages. Thank you to all the local businesses who generously donated prizes, we appreciate your support and it means that the Scheme can continue for many years to come supporting residents with lifts to appointments, companionship visits and help with odd-jobs.
A lovely afternoon was had all round and plans are already being discussed for Picnic ’27. Next year we’ll be bringing the event forward to June, where we hope to be bringing some live music to the green to add a wonderful atmosphere of fun. If you have any ideas for next year, would like to get involved with planning the picnic, or have an idea for another community event, then please get in touch with the Good Neighbour Scheme – we would love to have you on board! Contact us by email on [email protected]
Community Picnic 2026
Sunday 20th September, 12-3pm. Back for another year is our popular Community Picnic at the Woodhouse Eaves Youth and Community Hall and village green. Open to all; come and bring your own picnic and garden games. There’ll be a craft table for young (and old) to enjoy, music, a raffle and lots of lovely homemade cakes to purchase. As someone at the picnic last year said: “It’s lovely to come to something and just…be.”
Community Picnic 2025 Roundabout Article
Sunday 7th September was the annual Good Neighbour Scheme Community Picnic. Running since 2021 the picnic has become a village calendar staple and is a lovely relaxed event, bringing together all ages of village life for an afternoon of picnicking, chatting with friends and sampling some great bakes from the cake stall.
This year was a little different and we moved the event into the Youth and Community Hall and the new village green and play area, and what a success it was! The space was used to full advantage with people picnicking on the grass, seated on the benches and children inventing running races doing laps of the path! As one couple said “it was a delight to see our new Village Green being enjoyed by so many families”. With cakes, drinks and raffle tickets for sale, the day also raised nearly £250 which goes a long way towards the running costs of the Good Neighbour Scheme for the next year. Our thanks go to the local businesses and friends of the scheme who donated prizes and baked cakes. We couldn’t have done it without you.
It was lovely to see a mix of ages at the Community Picnic too with young and old making the most of the day; whether it was children enjoying the free craft stall, parents chatting or retired folk bringing chairs and picnics and a glass of something cold to while away the afternoon with friends. As one busy Mum told me, it was lovely to come and “just be”. I couldn’t agree more.
And remember; the Good Neighbour Scheme is available to anyone in the parish, if you need help with a small task, getting to an appointment, or would like someone to phone or call round for a chat, please call the scheme on 07561 890 100 and someone will talk you through the details.
Jo Atkinson
Community Picnic 2025
Come and join us for this year’s community picnic on Sunday 7th September, 12pm – 3pm. This popular, free community picnic has been running since 2021 and has become a village calendar staple. It is a lovely relaxed event, bringing together all ages of village life for an afternoon of picnicking, enjoying live music and sampling some great bakes from the cake stall and a fantastic raffle. It’s free to come along, just bring a picnic!
We have a slight change of venue this year, to help the success of the event no matter what the weather! We’ll be using the Woodhouse Eaves Youth and Community Hall and the lovely adjacent new village green and play area.
Community Picnic 2024 – Come rain or shine!
Sunday 15th September 2024 was the annual Good Neighbour Scheme Community Picnic at the Woodhouse Eaves King George V playing field. Running since 2021 the picnic has become a village calendar staple and is a lovely relaxed event, bringing together all ages of village life for an afternoon of picnicking, enjoying live music and sampling some great bakes from the cake stall.
The year, in addition to local busking legend Eddy Hall, we were also treated to the great sounds of Ukuele band, The N’Ukes, who brought a wonderful selection of songs for all to enjoy and a great array of instruments with ukuleles, drumming a washboard and, I think I even heard a kazoo included at one point! Garden games, mini golf, badminton and crafts were available for all to enjoy, making the most of the large amount of space available.
However, I can’t do a write-up about this year’s picnic without also mentioning the weather! Unfortunately, carrying on the theme of a wet summer, September 15th was very damp too and the event had rain for large parts of the afternoon.
None-the-less, as I was attempting to pack up a very wet gazebo and emptying out the water from inside of my picnic hamper my feelings weren’t of the disappointment of the rain, but of pride in my community: I’m thankful for the many helpers that we had throughout the day who worked tirelessly setting up the field, serving drinks, tidying and packing away. Thankful for the families, couples and groups of friends who arrived coats and umbrellas in hand to come to support us. Thankful for the people who saw the advertising, saw the weather forecast and came anyway.
The afternoon reminded me of the strength of community that we have in Woodhouse Eaves and I am so grateful for that. As part of the Good Neighbour Scheme we aim to support our neighbours, provide help and reduce social isolation, and I certainly felt like the recipient of that this year!
– Jo Atkinson
Community Picnic 2023 – Another great success!
The football pitch was filled with over 100 people, picnicking and enjoying a gentle Sunday afternoon with friends and neighbours. Families linked with each other, bought drinks, cakes and raffle tickets. The children enjoyed the messy play area and the games; some games were organised, and others emerged as the children ran around the enormous space having fun together.
Every year the Good Neighbour Scheme picnic is similar to last year, but also different! This year the weather forecast was for thunderstorms at 3.00 pm. We had a few drops of rain about 1.00 and hoped that we had got away with it…but we didn’t! At about 2.15 it rained and umbrellas came out, or people huddled under the marquees… and the children ran around in the rain! Eddy carried on playing his one-man band of hit songs, including those relating to the rain and the sun! People stayed, carried on having fun and the joy of the afternoon continued.
Eddy once again put together a lively play list of songs that everyone could recognise either first time around, or recently. The foot tapping, singing along and moving to his songs was a delight to see from all ages!
The cake stall was very popular as Woodhouse and Woodhouse Eaves showed once again that it is full of great bakers! Thank you so much to all the cooks, your contributions were very much appreciated.
Thank you to the local businesses who donated the very generous raffle prizes including, DeVol, Agora, Apple and Pear, The Pear Tree, Bawdon Lodge Farm and Home of Handmade as well as many individuals.
Thank you to everyone who came, supported and helped to make today work so well. Thank you too to the Parish Council and also to those who gave their time, energy, expertise, everything else and so much more.
The Good Neighbour Scheme Community Picnic is a special moment in the calendar where people get together, have fun and enjoy being part of these amazing villages, whatever the weather!