Children can get involved in fun and games on Morecambe Promenade involving chess, knights and dragons - all to help with their mental health.
Mental health campaigners 5asideCHESS will again bring their 'Battling Suicide Bus' to Morecambe seafront tomorrow (Saturday July 1) to encourage youngsters to learn social skills through the game of chess and a fun treasure hunt.
The bus will be parked at the giant frame in the West End Gardens on Morecambe seafront for a chess-themed activity aimed at children between the ages of six and 12 although all are welcome.
'A Hero's Journey' will begin when young players collect their chess set from the bus then go off to find five actors playing St George and the Dragon-themed characters located on the seafront.
They will play a game of chess against each of them while collecting tokens of wisdom and having lots of fun.
5asideCHESS is a social enterprise project aiming to reconnect people in an increasingly disconnected society and tackling mental health issues caused by loneliness and social isolation along the way.
A scaled down version of the full game, 5asideCHESS is easy to learn and quick to play, acting as an icebreaker and encouraging conversation and human interaction.
Ross Smith, co-founder of 5asideCHESS, said: “We believe that the antidote for loneliness has to be connection and that is what we are trying to bring about using a little game of chess.
"It is so important that children learn the art of social skills and connection at a young age if they are to avoid struggling with their mental health in their teenage years and beyond.
"At 5asideCHESS we have a simple motto, 'Your 1st Move is Hello'. We set people of all ages of on a journey with stepping stones along the way.
"We first put the Battling Suicide Bus on the road in 2018 and it is now covered in several hundred messages, each written by people who have lost loved ones to suicide.
"It’s all too easy to quote statistics of lives lost, but every one of these messages on the bus represents someone’s heartbreaking personal story.
"If you play five different people and get a certificate from Cambridge, Play 25 and become a 5asideCHESS Master, Play 100 and become a member of our 100 Club. We say that it’s not about who you beat, but who you meet.”
Here is the Battling Suicide Bus parked outside the West End Playhouse, home of the West End Players, on Yorkshire Street in Morecambe.
5asideCHESS partners with the Morecambe Fringe and the West End Players theatre group, who have been putting on a play called St George of Yorkshire Street in the local area, including at the recent West End Festival.
Matt Panesh, founder of Morecambe Fringe, said: “It's great to welcome the bus into Morecambe again. And this time, our West End Players can get involved.
"We're looking forward to engaging with everyone we can. We know only too well the terrible impacts of isolation, and this is such a lovely way to skill people to combat it”
To take part there will be a small donation, 50 per cent of which will go to Morecambe Fringe. The minimum donation per person is £5, suggested donation £10 and can be purchased through Eventbrite or from the team at the Bus on the day.
It runs from 11am to 1pm on Saturday July 1 and tickets can be booked here.
Morecambe Fringe begins on July 7 at the West End Playhouse and runs until July 30 with performing arts, theatre, spoken word, poetry and comedy.
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