The sun might not have shone as brightly as earlier in the week, but plenty of summer activities were on offer for families and residents across the district over the weekend.

From businesses and young people competing in Total Wipeout-style challenges to a mass Zumbathon, there was something for everyone to get involved with across the region.

People were encouraged to get back on their bikes as the Sky Ride Local events kicked off over the weekend in the run up to the second Bradford Sky Ride.

To mark National Family Week, Sky Ride Local held its first Pedal and Picnic in the Park rides in Lister Park for families and novices on Saturday and Sunday.

Daniel Goodey, regional recreation manager for Yorkshire at British Cycling, said: “The rides are led by British Cycling qualified ride leaders and there are rides every weekend from now until the middle of September.

“What British Cycling are doing with Sky Ride is to try to get a million more people cycling by 2013 and what we are really trying to look at this year is ‘where will your bike take you?’ “So we are trying to encourage people to use their bikes to take them to the park, work or countryside, so it is an opportunity for people to use their bikes for all sorts of recreational purposes.”

A six-mile women-only ride along the towpath from Saltaire to Bingley’s Five Rise Locks was also held yesterday.

Businesses and young people gathered in the grounds of Bradford Grammar School for a series of team challenges, organised by the Rotary Club of Bradford Bronte, in the style of It’s a Knockout and Total Wipeout.

Andrew Idle, president of the Rotary Club of Bradford Bronte, said the idea was for corporate teams and teams of young people to be able to compete.

He said: “There were three activity zones today – an assault course, an archery course and we also had a climbing tower.”

Teams from companies and organisations including JCT600, Naylor Wintersgill, Sovereign Healthcare, Bombay Stores, Bradford Chamber of Commerce and Gordons, as well as young people from Bradford Jitsu Club, took part in the competition.

The winner from the morning session was JCT600 while the afternoon session belonged to Bradford Jitsu Club Juniors. Mr Idle said the event was to raise money for the Isis Project, in Shipley, and the Gambian Schools Trust. He said the club hoped to raise more than £2,000.

Villagers in Wilsden spent Saturday raising a glass to the village’s first beer festival. Ten guest ales, supplied from the Old Bear Brewery, in Keighley, took pride of place at Wilsden Village Hall as discerning beer drinkers sampled a tipple or two.

Funds from the event will go towards refurbishing the village hall’s main room and buy a fold-away stage.

Emmerdale actor James Hooton was limbering up in Saltaire yesterday for a Zumbathon to raise money for a charity helping breast cancer patients.

James, who plays Sam Dingle in the Yorkshire soap, has been getting into zumba thanks to partner Nancy Lucas, who runs a company called Total Dance offering zumba classes and a children’s variation called zumbatomic.

Yesterday’s Zumbathon – a mass workout of zumba, blending dance moves with Latin rhymes – was organised by Deana Morgan, proprietor of DM Academy. The event, in Roberts Park, Saltaire, was held to raise money for Breast Cancer Haven, a charity providing counselling, complementary therapies, support and information for people affected by breast cancer.

Yesterday also saw a marching band contest return to the city for the first time in what is believed to be decades.

Bands from across the country performed at the show at Horsfall Stadium, in Cemetery Road, Bradford, which was hosted by the Revolution Show Corps band as part of the British Youth Band Association contest season.

A total of seven bands competed against each other throughout the day with winners in various categories.

These included 11-year-old Georgia Biggs, of the Revolution Show Corps, who won the solo category, while the ensemble category was a tie between the Revolution Show Corps and the Third Davyhulme Scout Band.

  • Read the full story in Monday's T&A