The official opening of Oughterard’s Corribdale Park will take place this Saturday September 19. The event will start with a free family funday taking place from 1pm - 2pm. There will be pony rides, bouncy castle, zorb footballs, a popcorn stall and face-painting as well as music and specially designed fitness challenges!
The official opening will take place at 1:30pm with a ribbon cutting ceremony and the unveiling of the wonderful Bank of Ireland legacy sculpture entitled “Tears of a Stone” by local stonemason Martin O’Malley.
At 2pm, to celebrate the opening of Corribdale Park, the committee will host the 4k Corrib County Colour Dash! The Colour Dash is a funfilled 4k course where participants are encouraged to wear white t-shirts and run, jog or walk to the finish line, getting covered head-to-toe in powder colour as they go. Four Dye Zones throughout the route will ensure there’s no escaping from the full-on fun of the most colourful event on the local calendar this year
The costs are €10 per adult, €5 per child or €30. Registration for the event will open at the Boxing Club from 12:30pm or online at https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/corrib-county-colour-dash-tickets-18580475703
The dash starts at 2pm from the Corribdale Park and will be followed by refreshments in the boxing club for all participants. The run is a fun event aimed at families and will hopefully raise the final amount needed to cover the costs of constructing the trails at Corribdale Park.
The park, which includes 500m of cycling and walking trails as well as outdoor fitness equipment, opened to the general public in June. Alongside the Teen Zone this is a fantastic amenity for the public and offers a unique attraction to draw people to the town.
The project is the culmination of five years’ work and construction started in April of this year. The contract was awarded in March to local contractors Seamus McDonagh Plant Hire. Project co-ordinator Sinéad Grimes said that the committee has worked with so many talented, dedicated people to build this park over the past number of years, and are just thrilled to finally be able to open it up for everyone to enjoy.
“The facility is in use every day by people of all ages and abilities and the local sporting clubs are starting to use the trails and equipment regularly for training. We’re really delighted with the local reaction.”
There are still some finishing touches to be completed, but the overall park looks fantastic with some truly unique touches such as the beautifully crafted rustic benches which were made by John Geoghegan of Glengowla.
The Colour Dash is being run in conjunction with the local Corrib Gym and the Oughterard branch of Bank of Ireland.
“We are delighted to support this great family fun event,” said Maeve Kavanagh from Corrib Gym. “Gym staff will be taking everyone through their paces on the day for the warm-up and we are looking forward to being part of a great community event.”
Bank of Ireland Branch Manager Liam Doyle said the bank is delighted to be involved in such a worthwhile local community event.
The dash starts from the Corribdale Park at 2pm and registration starts at 12:30pm from the Boxing Club. All are welcome and the Colour Dash will be followed by refreshments in the Boxing club for all participants. Make sure to join in the fun on Saturday 19th at Corribdale Park, Oughterard.
