'Wee warrior' Adam Watson to be honoured as community come together to mark his death from leukaemia, aged nine

The third and final Adam’s 24-hour charity walking challenge in memory of nine-year-old Banbridge boy, Adam Watson, will take place this weekend (August 3-4) at Craigavon Lakes for ‘B Positive’.

Poignantly, it will also mark the second anniversary of Adam’s passing.

The ‘wee warrior’ - who was an inspiration to so many - lost his courageous battle with acute myeloid leukaemia on August 3, 2022.

His parents, David and Sara, felt that now was the right time to stage the final 24-hour challenge.

“It is hard to believe how quickly another year has come round,” said David. “Saturday will be Adam’s second anniversary, so it will be a day of mixed emotions.

“This is the third and final year of the walk; we always said we wanted to stop it a year too soon, rather than a year too late.

“A lot of the teams have kept coming back year on year, and we are so grateful for that.

“We will be having a time of remembrance at 2pm on Saturday, which is around the time Adam passed away.

“This will be led by Rev Roderic West, who will be doing a Bible reading and we will be singing Adam’s favourite song from church ‘My Lighthouse’. We’ve got cards printed with the words on it so everyone can join in.

“This will then be followed by the fancy dress lap (from 2.15pm), as we want to keep people’s spirits high.

“Adam came up with the idea of the walk as he wanted to get people out and having fun.

“Adam has left an impact on so many people’s lives. It’s a case of us continuing to tell his story, keeping his name out there and showing that, with faith, you can face life’s battles - just like Adam did.”

But, they are aiming to go out on a high and make this year’s event even bigger and better than before!

There will be entertainment throughout the day of the walk, with DJ Greener kicking off proceedings at 10am. The walk itself gets underway at 11am.

Other performers will include Rock Choir, Lyness Stage School, Whiskey Before Breakfast, The Dukes, Paula Sax and Kayla Lennon.

At 2pm on Saturday there will be a time of reflection to remember Adam. Another emotional element of the event is the walk of light, from 9.45pm to 10.45pm.