900 people attended the final day of Seascale Gala Week

Over 900 people attended the final day of Seascale Gala Week, which featured a parade and fun activities on the recreation ground to celebrate the village's 175 years since the arrival of the railways. 

Instead of focusing on a charity for the week's theme, the spotlight was on all the village clubs and associations, with a week of activities aimed at boosting their membership numbers. 

A parade through the town (Image: Sue Long)

Organiser and villager Jason Rushworth arranged all 28 events to increase the memberships of various clubs, associations, and art groups in the village area, with open nights and social events in the lead-up to the final day.

He said: "We are all familiar with the with the expression 'give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.

Children take part in a race (Image: Sue Long)

"In a similar vein, with the desire to help smaller courses, I grouped over 20 local small clubs and associations into one week's expo to boost their memberships, through a collective celebration of the village anniversary.

"Over the last year, I have sat down with all the committees of the many clubs, associations, and art groups in my community and heard the same message from all of them.

"We need more members, and we need younger members coming through the ranks.

People ride on a model steamtrain (Image: Sue Long)

"All the local groups have the same ambition to replenish their numbers before they dwindle to nothing. When that happens, the community suffers.

"So I have taken this week off work to personally host 28 events to boost a village community life like never before. The legacy will be, if I have it right, to see all the memberships go up - in all those local groups involved, and when that happens, a village community thrives and pulsates with new energy and new engagement once more.

A parade through the town (Image: Sue Long)

"I discovered that this year was the village’s 175th anniversary since the railways opened up our village to the wider world and kicked off the building boom of the time.

"So what better time I thought than to celebrate it than to re-engage it with itself by reviving the old 'Gal Week' tradition that died out some decades ago."