South Somerset District Council are hosting a ‘Flying the Flag’ event at Yeovil Country Park this coming Saturday, 27 June, in celebration of Armed Forces Day this year.
15 flags will be on display along a festival flag trail at Ninesprings in the award winning Yeovil Country Park, from 11am on Saturday. The flags have all been designed by local Service families and local community groups.
Katy Menday, Countryside Manager at South Somerset District Council said, “The Rangers have worked with local Service families and community groups in a variety of workshops to design festival scale flags. Visit the site on the day to see the artwork and join us in celebrating the fabulous work of our local and national Service personnel and their families.”
The Flying the Flag event and workshops have been supported by the Armed Forces Community Covenant Fund. South Somerset District Council was awarded £16,000 by the Fund to promote the aims of the Covenant that encourage activities which help to integrate the Armed Forces Community into local life, and to nurture public understanding and awareness of issues affecting the Armed Forces Community.
Councillor Sylvia Seal, Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture at South Somerset District Council added, “With Yeovilton so close, and with so many Service families living in or near the town, we thought the country park is a great space to create an appropriate display on this years Armed Forces Day. We are hoping for great weather at the weekend so why not bring a picnic to the park, join in the fun and then relax and enjoy the green space.”
There will be a 25% discount on hot drinks and milkshakes for all serving military personnel on production of their service ID cards at the Ninesprings Café.
This event is just part of a series of projects that are being delivered in Yeovil Country Park, over the next two years, funded by the Armed Forces Community Covenant Fund.
The Somerset Armed Forces Community Covenant Partnership (SAFCCP) has just received confirmation that the Government is to invest £10m of money nationwide via the Covenant. Speaking about the news, Christopher Le Hardy, Chairman of the SAFCCP said, “This is excellent news and we know that people out there have been eagerly awaiting the new Covenant Fund and wondering what it is all about. There will be small grants up to £20,000 primarily for community integration projects which will be launched and open to application in mid-August, with a deadline in mid-September. Large grants up to £500,000 for more strategic higher impact projects will launch in mid-August with a deadline in late September.” For more information about the grants, visit the MoD website at www.gov.uk and search ‘Community Covenant’.