MORE than 20,000 people flocked to Penarth over the weekend to enjoy the summer festival and downhill derby.

Penarth Summer Festival was in full swing and was said to be a huge success. The event which is estimated to have brought more than 20,000 unique visitors was enjoyed by all, and displayed the wide variety of culture that the town has to offer including the longstanding Downhill Derby event.

With many stalls and traders representing key businesses in Penarth and the sponsorship of the event deeply rooted in Penarth, Genero Group and Penarth Town Council worked together to put on the festival.

With carousels, inflatables, the classic hook-a-duck game and a host of other festival activities, there was plenty of entertainment.

The downhill derby event on the Saturday also took place for the eighth year and saw gravity-powered soapboxes raced against the clock down Cliff Hill in a bid to be crowned ‘King/Queen of the Hill’.

The derby is one of the most popular events of the Summer Festival portfolio of events, this year supported by Genero Productions who are in partnership with Penarth Town Council to deliver.

This year’s races were commentated on by Megan Boot, Geraint Hardy and Penarth mayor, Jon Luxton.

From serious racers, to those wanting to have a bit of fun, like all races there were some crashes and some carts didn’t make it down the hill, but with helping hands from race officials, every cart crossed the finish line and received support and cheers from the crowds.

A couple of notable designs as picked out by the volunteer race officials included Not So Noo Noo - a big blue fluffy vacuum cleaner loosely modelled on the Teletubbies vacuum cleaner. However, the winners were Rapido Burrito, whose team were all in Mexican fancy dress.

Peter Leckie, MD of Genero, said: “I’m so glad that our first summer of events in conjunction with Penarth Town Council have gone from strength to strength. It has been a real pleasure to showcase Penarth and I’m so proud of all we have achieved.”