We had a great afternoon last week litter picking around Stoke Market , then taking over a stall and making badges, telling passers by about their campaign and making banners that will be displayed around Stoke & then used in the final ‘Tidy up my Town’ parade!
Stoke Minster school Year 5’s have been proudly wearing the Tidy up my Town high Viz designed from a year 6 child’s art work; it's great to see their enthusiasm for this project.
Read all about the project on the website page Tidy up my Town.
Funded by UK Government

We are delighted to announce that we are partnering with Two Saints Way project to revitalise the walking route through Stoke-on-Trent.  The route is a 92 mile long-distance pilgrimage route between Chester and Lichfield which was launched in 2015.  Unusually for a pilgrimage walk it travels through the heart of our urban city.  Since the route was launched, however, some sections of the path have become a bit unclear where roads and buildings have changed, and through Festival Park also. We are working with the City of Imagination wider project to bring the focus back for walkers to be guided through the city.  In particular we will encourage people to call in to see The Staffordshire Hoard.  The Hoard items originate from the time of the two Saints mentioned in the title of the route: St Werburgh and St Chad (the patron saints of Chester Cathedral and Lichfield Cathedral respectively).  Festival has had an interest in St Werburgh's story, when in 2019 we led an Arts Council funded project 'Werburgh and the Wild Goose'.  Keep your eye on our socials and on the Whats On page here on the website for opportunities to join in.

Later in October we'll be launching Nature Connect Club with the first session 'Fab Fungi' on Monday 28th October in Stoke Minster grounds.  This is the first of 12 sessions funded under the Greenspace Stoke project - to encourage and support children and adults in Stoke to connect with nature outdoors in the town.  
Francesca Wheeler will be leading each session, bringing her experience of creative nature events with Staffordshire Wildlife Trust.  Activities will be suitable for children and for adults too and will be adapted to the outdoor site and weather conditions on the day.  Don't let the rain put you off!  
Keep an eye on the project page Nature Connect Club or our Facebook page for up-to-date information.
https://www.facebook.com/festivalstoke

We're excited to announce a new project for Festival Stoke and Stoke Minster Primary School - called "Tidy up my Town'!
For the next six months we'll be out and about in the town centre encouraging people not to drop litter and keep the town centre looking tidy.  Children from the school will be putting on their Hi-vis vests and going out with litter pick sticks and hoops.  At the Tidy up my Town hub in the market children are designing posters for the shops and businesses asking people to keep the town centre tidy.  We have even mapped all the new litter bins in the town centre which have recently been installed by the city council - there are 18 single bins and 12 double bins around the town centre streets - that is 42 bins to pop your litter into!
​So if you are in Stoke, then please do help us to Tidy up my Town!

We were delighted with the turnout to our final Allotment Gallery show on Saturday 7th September.  What a fantastic day it was, with all the artworks displayed around the allotment, live music, a clay workshop, tea and cakes and the produce show by the allotment holders.  We were delighted at the number of people who came and chatted to friends old and new.  It was great to see the allotment holders who came along, several of whom had their portraits on display as part of Natalie Willatt's Common Plot installation.
Thank you to everyone who contributed and helped out and to Arts Council England the main funders and to Cllr Santoro for a ward budget so that we could make the final event a lovely day out for people.

We're looking forward to our next Allotment Gallery event on Saturday 7th September.  This day will bring together work by all the artists, with the main focus on Natalie Willatt's 'Common Land'.  As a taster... Natalie has been photographing plot holders and Richmond Street Allotments and learning a little of their stories.  She will present her images in qwerky and imaginative ways.  Along with the artworks we've booked musicians and artists to run clay workshops plus refreshments too.  We'll be there from 1.30pm - 5pm.  Oh, and to let you know that Richmond Street Allotment committee are holding their annual produce show at the same too. So there'll be lots going on.
​Suitable for adults and children, an accessible site with a compost loo.

Festival Stoke worked with patients at Burton-on-Trent hospital on the wards.  They created designs to be transferred onto these recycled pallet leaves.  We were delighted to receive these photos showing the leaves installed in the Halo Garden at the hospital.

We are sorry to announce that we have to postpone this event due to unforseen circumstances.  Keep your eye on our social media for updates and keep the date of Saturday 7th September in your diary for our celebration event at the allotment.

The third of our Allotment Gallery pop-ups is in preparation. This is Lutum by Blythe Taylor.
Last week Blythe came along to Plot 33 and started digging for clay.
It was a success, clay was discovered which she will process for making ceramic charms/ amulets made during workshops over the coming weeks, the first workshop took place last week at Art Stop as we were rained off up at the plot! 
Blythe led the first ceramic session with young people from Amity making clay objects to make the moulds with.
They absolutely loved playing with clay! 
A great start to this interesting project.
You can read all about Allotment Gallery and the artists on our website page ​Allotment Gallery