Friends, families, and fans flocked to the Wham Stadium on Saturday for the club's Family Fun Day.
The Reds' family day, the first of several planned events throughout 2019, was a great success following the introduction of a special family ticket offer in the Studio-sponsored Eric Whalley Stand.
Two children were able to attend Saturday's fixture against Southend United for free when accompanying a full-paying adult.
Supporters watched an entertaining game of football in a 1-1 draw that included Dan Barlaser's spectacular 20-yard strike - his first league goal for the Reds.
Local businesses rallied together to provide a budget friendly day of family fun, with every child who attended receiving a free hot dog from the football club and free milk from the Modern Milkman, as well as a reusable bottle provided by Studio Retail Ltd and a Property Shop banger stick to help them cheer on the Reds.
Andy Holt, Accrington Stanley chairman and majority shareholder, said: “The Family Fun Day could only go ahead thanks to the continuing support from local businesses – they always come through, giving up time and resources where they can to encourage the community to get behind the team, to engage in activity and to get out and have fun! Massive thank you to all involved; we are very grateful and had a fantastic day.
“You wouldn't have known it was a Saturday in February, the sun was definitely on our side! Many of the children who attended the event were wearing their free Stanley shirt they received as part of our initiative last year, a lot were attending for the first time. This was wonderful to see and exactly what we were hoping, to engage with the local people who make Accrington great."
Keen to encourage sustainable and environmentally friendly initiatives where possible, Stanley's stadium sponsors Wham - the UK's largest plastic manufacturer – donated three 92-litre 'Upcycled' boxes for the free milk cups to be collected in, in order for them to be taken to be recycled.
Holt added: “We are always eager to encourage environmentally friendly initiatives where possible too, the milk cups were recyclable and collected in our Wham Upcycled boxes which are made just up the road at our factory in Altham too!
"Everywhere you looked there was community spirit and pride. I'm looking forward to many more family fun days and seeing new faces alongside our brilliant regular fans!”
Sharon Benson, HR Director at Studio Retail Ltd, commented: “It was a pleasure to be involved, as always. Getting behind community events and family initiatives is incredibly important to our company. The sun was shining - families were out in full force! It was a fantastic day of celebration and we are happy we were a part of it.”
Steven Chippendale, Managing Director at Property Shop, said: “We like creating noise and as soon as we were presented with the opportunity to get involved with the fun day, we knew this is what we had to do. We gave out over 1000 banger sticks to Stanley to help families and fans make some noise. They definitely did just that!”