ISLAND VIBES

Saturday the 13th of July saw hundreds enjoy a day of free fun on Portland. Delivered by Island Community Action, the event was developed and planned for local children and young people through Portland’s Youth Council (PYC) – a group of 11–16-year-olds who represent the youth wing of Portland Town Council.

The event included a youth activity showcase, a young entrepreneur’s market, and a Skate Jam with competitions, tuition, and demonstrations.
The PYC meet regularly to discuss the issues impacting Portland’s young people and their potential solutions. The concept for Island Vibes originated during one of these meetings, following a series of youth led consultations that evidenced a lack of affordable activities for young people across the island. After further research, to discover what was actually available, the PYC proposed the event as a way of showcasing the activities they’d found.
A total of 17 groups attended, all providing free taster sessions, information and demonstrations. Organisations ranged from b-side, The Community Boxing Hub, CS Boardsports Power Kiting, Dorset Council and The Drop In to Platinum Dance School, Portland Museum, Royal Manor Theatre Playmakers and St John Ambulance.

Gavin Sandford from The Community Boxing Hub, said, “Attending this event has taken our organisation to another level. It was a fantastic day that gave us the opportunity to meet potential new members, engage with new beneficiaries and raise our profile in the community.”
Mairead Smith, PE Teacher at Atlantic Academy added, “I wasn’t aware of the number of physical activities available on the island that I could signpost our students to.”
Alongside established groups like 1st Portland Scouts and Reay’s Traditional Taekwondo, PYC also demonstrated free activities that can be enjoyed independently at home. This included arts and crafts, environment, and gardening activities. The latter was showcased after seven PYC members started a project, with support from Isle of Portland Orchids, to grow native Portland wildflowers from seed. 150 of these plants were given out free, with 177 people in total engaging with the event’s environment-based activities.
Stephanie Rowland–Pilgrim toured the activities on offer with her 6 year old daughter Elora while her older child Isabelle, aged 12yrs ran a Youth Council stall. Stephanie said, “I couldn’t believe how much is available locally and to be given the chance to try different activities out is such a wonderful idea. Because of today Elora is going to be starting Taekwondo and is feeling confident and excited about it, because she’s now met the leaders and knows exactly what to expect.”
Thanks to a kick starter legacy donation from the family of Ben Milner, a local man who unexpectedly and tragically passed away in 2022, PYC were also able to promote skateboarding through a series of lessons prior to the event and a Skate Jam during it. Ben had a passion for skateboarding and grew up skating along the seawall at Chesil Beach. As a teenager, he was also part of a small group of friends who petitioned the council to construct a skatepark in its current location, adjacent to Portland Beach Road.
Ben’s family felt it was a fitting tribute to use the donation to bring the community together for an event promoting the benefits of skateboarding. The PYC agreed, with members spending the entire year leading up to it raising additional funds to cover the cost of Bournemouth based company King Ramps to deliver the Skate Jam element, which included professional scooter, BMX and skateboards demos, competitions and tuition.
Crowds of all ages thoroughly enjoyed this element, with many not only feeding into a consultation around the island’s skateboarding facilities but also requesting for it to become an annual event. Local 17 year old Alfie Leggit said, “This has got me on my BMX again for the first time in a year and I think that I’ll definitely start using the skatepark again after this. It’s been a really good, really inspiring day.”
The young entrepreneur’s market, selling products created by local children and young people, included everything from cakes and stickers to jewellery and hair braiding.
Glitter tattoos and face painting were offered by 10 year old friends Ruby Hope and Imogen Burley. When asked about the day Ruby said, “We’ve had brilliant fun, I’ve learnt a lot about hard work and earning my own money. I can’t wait to do it again because I’m saving up for a new skateboard.”

Combined, the young entrepreneurs made an impressive £800, which they say has certainly motivated them to continue.
Overall the event was a huge success, with many new sign ups to local activities by children and young people, a heightened awareness of the wide range of activities available, new opportunities for collaboration between local community and youth organisations and an insight into how different community spaces can be used creatively to bring the community together.
ICA CEO Kim Wilcocks, said, “ICA is committed to supporting young people to overcome the challenges they face by using their voice and energy to develop their own solutions and proactively engage in delivering the community projects they’ve helped create. Island Vibes is a prime example of this collaborative process in action. It has taken our team two years to support the PYC members through consultation, research, project planning, fundraising, event management, project delivery, and evaluation, but this is only the start. They have many more incredible ideas that we would love to see realised. If any local individuals or businesses are interested in sponsoring or donating to our children and young people’s activities, whether this is for their events, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award or future training, we would love to hear from you.”
As the PYC enters its third year, their hope is to offer more positive activities and solutions, and to also attract more members and support. For more information, please contact Island Community Action at [email protected] or call 01305 823789.
Island Vibes forms part of ICA’s Children, Families and Young People’s Offer, part funded by the National Lottery Communities Fund and Portland Town Council. The event also benefitted from a Portland Rotary contribution.