The Kent County Show takes place at Detling Showground this coming weekend (8,9,10 July) and Kent County Council (KCC) is delighted to be there on stand 228.

The County Show is the region’s showcase event for farming, agriculture and countryside life. For three days a year, animals, horses, vintage vehicles, retail stands and much more converge on the stunning surroundings of the Kent Showground for a celebration of the best in the county.

If you are planning to come along and support the show this year, please come and say hello to the KCC staff on our stand where you will receive a warm welcome.

This year we are focusing on the Reconnect Kent Children and Young People Programme. Reconnect is a KCC led, community-based programme designed to get Kent’s children and young people thriving following the pandemic.

Clubs, businesses and organisations have come together to create fabulous opportunities for children and young people. Together they can have fun, catch up on missed learning, engage in sports and activities, trips and experiences, receive mental health support, regain their confidence and gain access to career development opportunities.

The programme is going from strength to strength and continues to support Kent’s communities to get involved and to help children and young people reconnect and thrive.

Leader of Kent County Council, Roger Gough, said “The Kent County Show is a fantastic event that celebrates everything that is great about our county, and I am delighted that KCC is this year showcasing the Reconnect programme on our stand.

“The three-day event is a great opportunity for visitors to the show to discover more about Reconnect and how the scheme continues to find new and exciting ways to connect children and young people with the things that they missed out on through the pandemic. As the school summer holiday draws near, the KCC stand offers a timely chance for young people and their families to find out how they can benefit from the scheme and get out and about, get active and get involved in all sorts of activities over the summer break.

“KCC’s stand will be combining educational and informational experiences with some really fun and interesting activities aimed at young people. I hope that everyone who visits the show this year will have a fun day out and come away feeling extremely proud of everything that Kent has to offer.”

Visitors to the KCC stand will have a chance to find out more about a number of offers and activities that are running throughout the summer. These include free bus passes for young people and families, the Big Summer Fun Challenge, and some fantastic offers from leisure centres.

As always, the stand will feature fun activities for all the family, from American Football to keyring making to spelling games, Olympia boxing and a giveaway of wildflower seeds to attract bees, butterflies and bugs into your garden.

There will also be an opportunity to have your face painted on Saturday and Sunday and a small table with play dough for young children.

Open Access colleagues will be delivering activities including giant Jenga, giant Connect 4 and badge making.

Kent County Council colleagues will also be promoting different offers and services for young people, including post-16 support, Safety Pin, the Summer Reading Challenge, and the Holiday, Activities and Food Programme.

KCC and its waste and recycling partner FCC Environment will also be out in force at the Kent Show to answer the publics questions about recycling.

Staffed by a range of experts from the council and from FCC, their stand will help residents to better understand what can be recycled both at home and at local Household Waste Recycling Centres in the county, where the waste that cannot be recycled goes and why it’s vital to recycle as much as possible to help the environment.

At stand 228 we will once again be providing the very popular water refill point to encourage visitors to the show to reuse their drinking bottles, get visitors to really think about avoidable waste and to give thirsty dogs at the show a drink.

Let’s hope the sun shines for the Kent County Show this year and we look forward to welcoming you to stand 228!

Ends

For further details please contact KCC Corporate Communications Manager, Lucy Mayor, on 03000 416421 or 07850 907407 or email Lucy.mayor@kent.gov.uk