The second Family Weekend of 2018 was held at another new location for VICTA, the grand grounds of Condover Hall in Shrewsbury. After wall-to-wall sunshine all summer, we were expecting more of the same however the heavens had other plans! Despite the wet and the wind, it didn’t dampen any spirits on another fantastic family weekend.

We were very pleased to welcome new families to join us and experience a VICTA Family Weekend for the first time. It was a delight to see new friendships being made by both children and parents across the whole weekend.

After arriving and meeting their children’s groups on Friday night, parents sent their offspring off with the VICTA volunteers to do their activities on Saturday morning before heading to the Cinema Room for an extended seminar from VICTA trustee, Gurvinder Kaur, on EHCPs. After lunch, we were fortunate enough to have Eddy Eyad come and share his experience as a young person growing up and living with sight loss. Eddy has spoken at previous VICTA Family Weekends, however with many new parents present that had not heard his story, this session definitely seemed to be a highlight for many and they left feeling inspired and reassured about their children’s future.

The children were kept busy all weekend with new activities not previously experienced at a VICTA Family Weekend including laser mazes, rocket launches and dance mania! Our wonderful volunteers meant that parents were able to leave their children throughout these sessions which really helped them grow in confidence and independence – and gave the parents a break too!

On Sunday, parents also had the opportunity to get into their own groups and enjoy the activities on offer. A lot of fun was had on the high ropes (at least, that is what we thought the regular screaming indicated), and quite a few spent more time in the lake than on it in their kayaks.

Our ‘Medieval’ fancy dress themed weekend fitted perfectly with the backdrop of the Grade 1 listed Condover Hall, and the gathering of knights, princes and princesses, as well as the odd dragon, partied well into the night. Congratulations to all winners! After the quiz and parade everyone hit the dance floor and then refreshed themselves in the bar.

In no time at all, it was suddenly the Monday coffee morning and a chance for parents to reflect on the weekend whilst their children had a final round of activities. Thank you to all of the families who attended and made the weekend what it was, as well as our fabulous speakers, and as always our brilliant VICTA volunteers!

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