Canton Community Hall

While the many classes, sports and kids’ events that you expect such a venue to host are all commendable, over the past few years there has only been one entertaining reason to visit Canton Community Hall: the Celtic Wrestling nights. Drawing their cues from the internationally followed WWE bouts, taking what is essentially (physically-​demanding) acting deadly seriously, this Welsh valleys-​slanted take on dispensing piledrivers and DDTs has its tongue firmly in cheek. In fact it’s probably one of the funniest things you’ll witness in Cardiff. The wrestlers have back-​stories, play to the crowd and even sign autographs for young fans. The school sports hall vibe only adds to the fun, as do bring your own booze rules, which make the fairly hefty admission (around £7) worthwhile — everyone from families to twenty-​something drinkers attend side by side in good humour. Sadly, it seems after a serious injury to one of the competitors the bouts have been put on hold temporarily.

My first impression of Canton Community Hall was that it had space to park a plane!
The hall being a community hall has many functions, it’s a yoga studio and martial arts arena among other things, but I know it mainly as a space for toddlers to scamper about. The Thursday group is Welsh speaking and Welsh nursery rhymes are sung, although a lot of non Welsh speakers and triers also go.
The hall is vaste and ‘islands’ of mats, activities and toys fill it. You pay a couple of quid and you get tea, squash, biscuits and apples. The other parents seem friendly and me little one loved it.
Next to the hall and within the same building is a Welsh speaking nursery for 2 year olds to primary. I went to check it out and got a really good first impression of it. Forgot all the questions I was going to ask, just saw a room full of happy children, that seemed to be all that mattered.

I walked past this community hall for about a year before I decided to go into the entrance area and have a look on the noticeboard at what goes on there.
I’d already seen children wandering in there in their karate gear, so I knew they did some classes there — but I had no idea how many.
In fact, they do 5-​a-​side, basketball, netball, fitness classes, dance classes, yoga, martial arts, and even language lessons! They have a Welsh children’s nursery, host after school activities and holiday programmes, and parents and tots groups. I had no idea there was so much going on right through the week.
There’s also a car park at the back of the building, which is handy! Well worth checking out if you’re new to Canton and want to find some local activities.