The Orchards Shopping Centre took on the spirit of the Wild West for five days of free family fun, fundraising and plenty of cowboy spirit – and we’re delighted to say that Wild West Week was a huge success.

From panning for gold and testing skills at our Wild West games to line dancing and taking on the rodeo bull, there was something happening throughout the week – all helped along by glorious sunshine, ice creams, candy floss and lots of visitors embracing the theme.

One of the biggest reasons for bringing Wild West Week to The Orchards was to have some fun while supporting our Charity of the Year, Kangaroos.

We send a huge thanks to everyone who joined our line dancing sessions and made donations while enjoying the games and activities, together we raised an incredible £833.80 for Kangaroos. This couldn’t have been possible without the free time given up by our amazing line dance teachers from Cindy Lou’s Line Dancing and Line Dance Fit.

Everyone who donated – whether it was from games and activities or dancing, you helped us reach such a fantastic total. Every pound will help Kangaroos continue its valuable work supporting children and young adults with learning disabilities in Mid Sussex. 

Photo credit Luke Hay

We couldn’t have asked for much better weather. The sun shone, cowboy hats were everywhere and there were plenty of ice creams and candy floss being enjoyed between activities.

Saturday brought even more Wild West atmosphere as we were joined by live band Whiskey Over Ice, filling The Orchards with country music while the day’s activities continued.

Our rodeo bull brought plenty of laughs – and a little friendly competition – as visitors, retailers and members of the team attempted to see just how long they could stay in the saddle.

Whether you came along for the children’s activities, tried your hand at panning for gold, joined a line dance, tackled the bull or simply stopped to see what was going on, thank you for being part of it.

After such a fantastic response, we’re already starting to think about Wild West Week 2027. If this is something you’d like to see, please drop us a line – feedback is always welcome too.

We’d like to say a huge thank you to our instructors, activity providers, retailers, volunteers and everyone else who helped bring the week together – and, of course, to every visitor who joined us and helped raise £833.80 for Kangaroos.

Judging by the smiles, the dancing, the number of cowboy hats and the enthusiasm we saw throughout the week, we think the Wild West might just have to ride into The Orchards again next year.

Earlier in the year we ran a photography competition and were delighted that one of our winners, Luke Hay and his partner Serena Verdnicci joined us as event photographers for this one. 

If you have any other images you’d be happy for us to share, please send to us via email HERE.

Our next event is on Halloween – check out our events page for others.

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