Ipswich’s spectacular summer season of family-fun is set to get a whole lot sunnier this year as a portion of Christchurch Park will be transformed into Ipswich’s first ever beach.
From July 22, a section of the park near the children’s play area will have tonnes of sand on hand for families to enjoy the summer beach experience on their doorstep.
As well as a specially made sand area, which will be surrounded by decking, a funfair, bungee trampoline and private bar for parents will also be set-up to make 2017 a memorable holiday.
The beach will be open from July 22 right up until the end of the school holidays on September 3, opening seven days a week between 11am and 7.30pm.
An Ipswich Borough Council spokesman said: “This is a new event for us but we would like to bring the beach to Ipswich!
“We hope it proves to be another successful draw for families over the long summer holidays and will be an extra reason for families to visit one of our beautiful parks.”
The idea came from organisers who wanted to situate a beach in a unique location which hadn’t been turned into the seaside before.
The spokesman added: “This hadn’t been done in any of our parks before, and if it’s successful we will aim to make it an annual event.”
The temporary beach has become a fixture on the calendar for many towns and cities including Bury St Edmunds, Nottingham, Berlin and Paris among others.
Following last weekend’s open air cinema and Ipswich Music Day double-header, the pop-up beach forms part of the packed summer schedule taking place in Christchurch Park this summer, with dozens events having been organised for families.
Among others the highlights will be the Mammal Morning taking place on Saturday, July 29, the Global Rhythms and Indian Summer Mela festivals, both happening this weekend, and the park’s Night Safari in August.
The borough council’s events team spokesman added: “There is so much going on in an Ipswich summer – films, theatre, festivals, great music and entertainment.
“There is something for people to celebrate all summer long.”
More events are being added to the summer programme each week – for more information visit the events calendar online here.
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