Nidderdale Showground will host a new charity fundraiser for Cure Parkinson’s later this month.

The event is being organised by Melanie Mawer, a retired grandmother of three and Nidderdale resident.

The fundraiser includes an obstacle course, food stalls, animal petting and Morris dancing.

The day will also include a series of races hosted by Nidderdale Fell & Trail, with routes through woodland and open moorland.

There’s promised to be a 10k trail run, a 2k kids run and a 3k Canicross. Canicross is an increasingly popular sport involving doing cross country running with dogs.

The fundraiser is aiming to raise money for Cure Parkinson’s, a charity looking to slow, stop or reverse the progression of Parkinson’s.

Melanie, the organiser, has had experience with the condition. Both her late father suffering from it, and her running partner being recently diagnosed.

While working as a nurse and a carer, she also saw her fair share of cases in the community.

She said:

“This is the first fundraiser I’ve organised in my life, and I didn’t think it was going to be this big!”

“I’m just hoping we can make some money for Cure Parkinson’s… I just didn’t realise that so much is done on computers, and there’s so much admin to look after! I’ve learnt a lot though!”

Helen Matthew, Cure Parkinson’s deputy CEO, added:

“Fundraising support is absolutely critical for the charity to enable us to achieve our goal. We aim to cure Parkinson’s and the only way we will do this is through the help of all our incredible supporters – it’s as simple as that!”

The event will be held on June 25, from 8:30 to mid-late afternoon. Melanie is also running a JustGiving Page alongside the event, which can be found at here.

Entry to the event is free with a small fee to compete in the races. Registration for the races is at 8:30am with the first race starting at 10. More information on the races and prebooking can be found here.

There is no need to prebook to attend the wider event or things on offer.

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A new choir will offer a fun yet effective form of speech therapy for people with Parkinson’s in the Harrogate district.

It will be led by musician Rhiannon Gayle, supported by staff from speech therapy at Harrogate District Hospital.

Each session will offer gentle exercises and fun songs, as well as time to socialise, at the Green Hut on Harlow Avenue, Harrogate, each Monday afternoon.

Research has shown singing helps to improve breathing and voice control in people with Parkinson’s, and group singing is also known to improve mental health and wellbeing.

John Sheepy, chairman of the Harrogate and district branch of Parkinson’s UK, said he is keen to hear from more people with Parkinson’s who could benefit from the choir and the other activities on offer.

“We have 160 members in the branch, but the hospital have 750 people diagnosed with Parkinson’s on their records.

“We’re always trying to find the other mossing 600 – not from our own point of view, but from theirs, because Parkinson’s is a horrible thing to face without support.”

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As well as its monthly meetings, the Harrogate group offers numerous opportunities for members to stay active, from table tennis to crown green bowls, and even boxing.

It also organises talks from experts in fields relevant to Parkinson’s patients. On September 27, three leading speakers will look at advances in research, treatments and technology in a research projects discussion forum held by the branch.

The event takes place at the Masonic Lodge from 7pm, with a meal also available from 6pm at £10 per person.

For more information about the choir or other upcoming events, visit the Harrogate and district Parkinson’s website.