A FUN day out is promised for spectators at this year’s annual charity raft race taking place on the Dee next month.

The Rotary Club of Chester is again organising the event on Sunday, July 7, which involves home-made rafts competing against each other, with the usual thrills and spills expected to entertain the crowds at The Groves.

The theme for the rafts will be ‘Rule Britannia’ – who put the ‘Great’ in to Great Britain from 1066 to 2013 – with the main beneficiary being Chester Childbirth Appeal, supporting mothers and newborn babies, together with other good causes.

This summer fun event has been taking place annually over the last 38 years with many hundreds of thousands of pounds raised for a variety of charitable causes.

A number of sponsorship and hospitality opportunities are available and companies or organisations looking to increase their profile in the local community are urged to support the event.

It provides an entertaining spectacle for the large crowds that gather at The Groves on a Sunday morning to watch the rafters battling it out over the 400 metre course from the Boat House Inn, down river over the weir to the finishing line.

Last year the event was unfortunately postponed owing to the river being flooded during one of the worst summers in memory.

It promises to be a fun day and there are prizes not just for the first crew over the line but also for fastest men’s, ladies and pub rafts, as well as a prize for the best representation of the race theme.

Budding rafters and potential sponsors are encouraged to participate in this ‘crazy’ event by emailing: raftrace.chester@mail. com for details or logging on to the www.rotaryclubchester.org website for an entry form and further information.