A CELEBRATION of Dorchester’s Borough Gardens will offer fun for all the family.

A free event is being held in the gardens on Wednesday, July 30 to mark national Love Parks Week, with a whole range of entertainment for all ages.

There will be mini traction engine rides, Punch and Judy performances, a bouncy castle, a treasure hunt, face painting and a children’s art workshop for youngsters to enjoy.

There will also be bird box making, a juggling workshop, free tennis coaching, a coconut shy and displays of vintage cars, motorcycles and model aircrafts.

Organisations present at the event will include the Dorset Butterfly Conservation Group, the Dorset Wildlife Trust, Dorset Police and Dorset Fire and Rescue Service.

The event will run from 10.30am to 4pm and there will be food and drink available from the Rethink Oasis Kiosk and the bandstand.

Mayor of Dorchester Peter Mann said that it was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate all that the Borough Gardens provided for the county town.

He said: “The Borough Gardens has always been popular with people from Dorchester and the surrounding area, but they have gone from strength to strength since the refurbishment works were completed seven years ago.

“They are now the town’s principal focus for a wide range of free community activities and we are delighted to see just how much they are used and how much pleasure local people and visitors enjoy there.

“In particular we are pleased to support Love Parks Week again and to provide yet more ways for people to enjoy themselves there.”

The Love Parks Week initiative is in its eighth year with organisers Keep Britain Tidy using the initiative to boost its aim to gather one million people in parks and green spaces across the county to showcase the benefits that can be obtained from the free local resources.

It also wants to encourage promotion and reinvestment into the valuable, but often forgotten assets, that are our parks and green spaces.

A spokesman for Keep Britain Tidy said: “Love Parks Week encourages friends, families, the young and old, to come together and enjoy what our parks and green spaces offer.

“People must never forget that these spaces provide many opportunities for friendship, education, health, exercise and simple play and fun.

“Let’s remind them and celebrate their meaning, get behind Love Parks Week.”