Emma Pritchard

An estimated crowd of 3000 people made waves at the Grafton Showground last week as the central location hosted the Summer Splash Fun Park.

From January 10-14, six inflatable waterslides set up by Northern Rivers Jumping Castles, along with sideshow games and mobile food vendors, created a fun-filled family atmosphere as part of Clarence Valley Council’s (CVC) Summer Splash Program, while the Grafton Olympic Pool remains closed for the remainder of the season.

A free community event, the Summer Splash Fun Park was readily welcomed by local families in search of a cool way to beat the heat.

Local mum Chrystal Davies took her kids Jayden, 7, and Ava, 6, to the fun park, and told the Clarence Valley Independent the whole family had a wonderful time.

While she admitted she is extremely frustrated by the current closure of the Grafton Olympic Pool, Ms Davies was pleased an alternative outdoor activity which allowed families to have plenty of fun together while keeping cool in the warmer weather was organised for everyone to enjoy.

“My kids had been telling me how sad they were for weeks after we learned the pool was going to be closed for the whole summer, and as we don’t like going to the beach, and none of our friends or family who live nearby have pools, this was such a great set up,” she said.

“Jayden and Ava begged me to take them as soon as we heard about it.

“They loved the range of waterslides which were available to play on, and they kept arguing over who would use each slide first.

“They enjoyed themselves immensely, we all did, and the staff who were in charge were so friendly and engaging with the kids.

“Even when the pool does reopen, I think council should seriously investigate long term options to have similar set ups like the Summer Splash Fun Park for families during the school holidays.

“It was something different for the kids and it was also great to have sideshow games and food trucks on site too.

“Being a free community program, it was so accessible for everyone which I thought was fantastic.

“I would definitely love to see it happen again.”

• The waterslide and picnic area at the Grafton Olympic Pool will remain open for the remainder of January and February with a subsidised entry of $2.