Pleasure Island set to host major airsoft event

After whispers of will it, won’t it, it has finally been confirmed that Pleasure Island in Cleethorpes is set to play host to a major airsoft event. The Ai500 event, called Ai: The Gathering, will take place between June 9^th and 10^th 2017, and is promising to be one of the biggest airsoft events on the calendar, so make sure you’ve got your airsoft guns ready! The former theme park closed its doors for the last time in October this year, and has since sat around untouched, except for the sealions who have been looked after as they are part of a separate franchise. This led to Paul Monaf, of the magazine Airsoft International who are organising the event, to contact the owner Melanie Wood with the idea. Speaking of his idea, Paul said: "We were made aware of the park sadly closing so I got in touch with Melanie who agreed to let us use the site. We run the Ai500 as global events including places like Florida. "We have run the event in some interesting places. This year we hired a prison near Great Yarmouth where we had 250 players." And as with every airsoft event, Paul has made efforts to assure locals that the event will be carried out professionally and will not disrupt anyone nearby to the site. He continued: "It's extremely low impact. We will work alongside the neighbourhood around the venue and it will have a strict curfew. "We don't run night games and they will end at about 6pm. Most of the players will be staying in the park and we are very mindful and respectful of the environment.” As well as the battles, the festival will also feature trade stands and live entertainment. The event will cost £90 per head with booking information soon to be published on the Ai500 Facebook page, so keep your eyes peeled!   Photo courtesy of Steve Fareham, under Creative Commons