There’s an array of free or low-cost activities this February half-term to keep the kids entertained across South Oxfordshire and the Vale. 

South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils arts centres and Active Communities team have planned a week of theatre, workshops and physical activities for children and their families to engage with. 

Active Totz 

Active Totz is a fun play session that is full of energy and excitement, with interactive games aimed at children from 18 months to 5 years old with siblings up to 7 years welcome to join in. There are 3 Active Totz sessions taking place across the two districts and all the activities will have a Winter Olympics theme.  

Each session will be from 10-10.45am on: 

• Monday 13 – Steventon Village Hall  
• Tuesday 14 – Wootton and Dry Sandford Community Centre  
• Wednesday 15 – District Community Centre, Great Western Park, Didcot  

Sessions are free for YouMove members or £8 per child and an additional £5 per sibling. To book please call Sophie Butler on 7709168740 or email sbutler@activetotz.co.uk. 

The Beacon Wantage 

Come along to The Beacon for an unforgettable Jurassic experience for all the family to enjoy. 

At Dinosaur Adventure Live, you’ll be able to find out some amazing dino-facts, meet beautiful baby dinosaurs and even feed them as they introduce you to some of the most incredible species ever to have lived on Earth. This awe-inspiring interactive show captivates and immerses audiences in the enthralling and realistic world of dinosaurs. 

Tickets are now on sale at The Beacon for performances on Tuesday 14 February, with tickets at £14, shows are at 2pm and 4.30pm.  For more information and to book your tickets visit The Beacon website. 

Cornerstone Arts Centre Didcot 

For those with children interested in getting crafty, Decorate Your Own Bird House on Wednesday 15 February at 11am will have children designing an exciting new home for local wildlife just in time for spring to arrive. This one-off workshop and is aimed at children in key stage 1, it costs £10 with all materials provided to get creative. 

Or book tickets to see the crowd pleaser Quentin Blake’s Mister Magnolia on Sunday 19 February at 2pm. This show is full of colourful characters, live music, puppetry and audience interaction inspired by the incredible work of illustrator Quentin Blake. This is family-friendly theatre at its best. 

Head to the Cornerstone website to find out more. 

Xplorer 

Our Active Communities team will be keeping children busy with their free Xplorer events. Xplorer is a family friendly fun navigation challenge that is suitable for all ages.  

Using a simple map, the aim is to find several markers that are located around the park. Places are available for: 

• Monday 13 – Edmonds Park, Didcot  
• Monday 13 – Southern Town Park, Abingdon 
• Tuesday 14 – Benson Recreation Ground  
• Wednesday 15 – Wantage Memorial Park 

Sessions run from 10am-midday and children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Families can book online via this link or turn up anytime from 10am on the day with the last registration for all events at 11.30am.  

Family walks and talks at Harcourt Arboretum 

On Thursday 16 February, families can go along to Harcourt Arboretum near Oxford for free family walks from 1-2pm and 2.30-3.30pm.  

There will be lots to see and do from exploring the ground to attending some special talks from the staff on site. 

For more details, please contact active.communities@southandvale.gov.uk  

There’s more information about the Active Communities team and YouMove on the council’s website whitehorsedc.gov.uk/activecommunities. 

South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils will be closed on Monday 19 September – the public holiday to mark the occasion of the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.  

As the councils’ offices at Milton Park will be closed, the books of condolence will not be available to sign on the day of the funeral but will be open again on Tuesday 20 September. 

Waste collections in the two districts will not be taking place on 19 September. Collections next week will therefore take place a day later than scheduled, with an extra collection on the Saturday to catch up – this is the usual process the councils follow after a bank holiday. See the table below for more details. 

Leisure centres and facilities owned by the councils will also be closed on 19 September, as will Cornerstone in Didcot and The Beacon in Wantage, the arts centres owned by the councils. 

Waste collection dates: 

Residents across South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse are being urged to check the details on a letter they will receive from their district council from the end of July.

South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils will be sending a ‘Canvass Communication Form’ to all homes which requires the occupants to check the details of everyone over the age of 16 living there.  Local authorities need to do this each year to ensure the electoral register is up to date.  

The letter people receive in July/August will depend on whether or not records indicate that there has been a change in the registered voters at their property – for instance, if a registered voter recently moved in then that address will receive a yellow letter, but if the occupants have remained the same since the last election, they will receive a green letter.

What you need to do:

If your household receives a yellow letter:

Once you have checked the details, please visit householdresponse.com/southandvale to either confirm that everything is correct, or to update the information for your property.  You will need the two-part code on the letter to do this.  

If your household receives a green letter:

• if the details are correct – you don’t need to do anything, you can simply keep the letter for your records or shred it and put it in your recycling bin. 
• if the information is not correct – please visit householdresponse.com/southandvale to update the details for your property, you will need the two-part code on the letter to do this.  

In either case, the letter will explain exactly what you need to do – it is very important that you read it carefully. 

If you are required to either confirm or update your details, please do so as quickly as possible – this helps to ensure that the councils will not need to contact you again to confirm the information.

Mark Stone, Electoral Registration Officer for South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils, said: “When you receive your letter, if you need to update your details, please do this as soon as possible.  It’s very easy to do and only takes a couple of minutes, and it is also helps to ensure that people in your household will be registered to vote in next year’s local elections.”

For information about how our Elections team holds, uses and stores personal data please visit southoxon.gov.uk/electionsdata or whitehorsedc.gov.uk/electionsdata