The Big Lunch 2014 Countdown

On April 12th, with under 50 days to go until the UK’s annual get-together for neighbours, The Big Lunch is urging everyone in Newry to get involved in this year’s event on Sunday 1st June.

The Big Lunch is a very simple idea from the Eden Project. The aim of the Lottery-funded event, which is now in its sixth year, is to get as many of the 63 million people in the UK as possible to have lunch with their neighbours once a year.

Free packs can be requested online, they include posters, invitations, an inspiration booklet and other materials to help organise your Big Lunch, so there’s no excuse for local residents not to get their community together for a day of friendship, community and fun this June.

Not started planning yet? Don’t worry, there is plenty of time; Big Lunches can be big or small and can take place on a street, garden or community space, anywhere where neighbours can get together.

Getting your own Big Lunch off the ground is simple and inexpensive, people are the key ingredient, with those taking part creating friendlier communities in which they start to share more, from conversation and ideas to skills and resources. In fact, organising a Big Lunch is easier than you think; all you need to do is follow a few simple steps:

1. Settle on a venue, anywhere from a street to a garden or local community space.

2. Invite your neighbours, with free invitations available in your Big Lunch pack. Decide on who will bring what food, such as a bring-your-own picnic or a barbeque.

Arrange your decorations and music – bunting templates are also included in the pack.

Grainne McCloskey, local Big Lunch representative said, “The Big Lunch is a great way to build stronger links in the community and bring people from different backgrounds together. It’s really easy to take part, especially if you join in and get your free Big Lunch pack from www.thebiglunch.com which has lots of helpful materials to get you started.”

The benefits of having a Big Lunch? Research from The Big Lunch showed that over 60% of organisers say having an event in their community made them feel less isolated and 86% of the 3.65 million people that took part in last year’s Big Lunch reported a positive long term effect in their neighbourhood as a result.

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Posted by Newry Times News on Apr 23 2014. Filed under Community, What's On. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry