On Sunday 8th May, Alison and Caroline from Hand In Hand Activities CIC attended the Spring Fair at Ropner Park in Hartburn to take attendees for trishaw rides around the park on Trixie Trishaw.
We arrived on site bright and early, around 10:30am and made our way to the cafe at the centre of the park with a tub full of lollipops, saddlebags full of leaflets and legs ready for pedalling.
We had quite a slow start to the day, with many people intrigued by the project but unsure of taking a ride. We used that opportunity to share information with those interested in finding out more and to support the cafe by enjoying a nice morning cup of tea!
We moved ourselves to the bandstand area, where the food stalls and entertainment was taking place and it wasn’t long before we had our first passengers. We learned that there was some misunderstanding as park users thought it was a family owned trishaw transporting our own children around the park – picked up on when we were asked what had happened to the first children we room for a spin!
This was a fantastic learning experience and we now know we need to make sure it is clear that when attending events we are a commercial project rather than a private family gathering.
Over the course of the day, many passengers donated to our cause following their trishaw rides, with some coming back multiple times too! We counted that we took 42 people of all ages for a ride around the park over the course of the day and we collected £28 in donations.
Thank you to everyone who took time to speak to us, took away some information, joined us for a trishaw ride and shared their own photographs and videos on social media. It is wonderful meeting new people and catching up with people we have met at previous events.
We have a few more events planned over the Spring and Summer months so please keep an eye on our social media accounts for more information.
0 Comments