Join us at March Library on 4 November from 11:30 – 3pm to play, explore and have fun with free drop-in creative activities and live demos for all ages led by local artists at our Creative Launch for St George’s Festival, 2024.
Meet a mesmerising Mandinga Arts custom-made puppet creature and try on costumes. Join Carey Outis as he shows you how to make puppets from willow and invites you to paint your own section of his dragon drawing. Choose materials and fabric with Ricki Outis and develop your own ideas for a St George’s Day parade costume.
Create shadow puppets with Liz Falconbridge and Karin Forman. Interact with the books in the library with poet Charley Genever, and ‘find’ words to complete a special poem. Try out a Tag Tool activity and create your own digital artwork with MarketPlace’s Creative Producer Louise Eatock.
Post your thoughts on the ideas wall of what you would like to see and do for St George’s Festival next April. Tell us which activities you most enjoyed at the Creative Launch – and if you missed this year’s Festival you can enjoy filmed highlights – or relive your favourite moments!
Taking place at the Wisbech Adventure Playground, the workshop series is for ages 9+ and is led by artist Karin Forman, with playworkers on hand for support. The sessions cover creative activities such as screen-printing, clay work and crochet. The activities are inspired by objects from Wisbech & Fenland Museum, such as ‘witch’ bottles and Viking brooches. The young people taking part will be given exclusive hands-on access to the collection.
The first workshop will take place on Saturday 23 September from 1-4pm and will run for five consecutive Saturdays. The series is in collaboration with The Spinney Adventure Playground and Wisbech & Fenland Museum.
For more information and to book your space, email peggy@cppmarketplace.co.uk or speak to the playworkers at The Spinney Playground
Get ready for the grand opening of the new performance space at Brandon Country Park. The brand-new performance space is a result of a collaboration between Brandon Creative Forum and MarketPlace, and is soon to be opening its doors. Join us on Saturday 29 July from 2 to 4:30pm, as we celebrate the new space in style with live music from local artist Flaming June (AKA our Creative Producer, Louise!). Plus poetry, storytelling and more.
We’ve been hard at work alongside Brandon Creative Forum and the dedicated volunteers from Brandon Country Park, digging foundations and preparing the space. Leading the project are Mike Willett and Jill Blanchard of Brandon Creative Forum, with an incredible team of volunteers supporting them every step of the way. The performance space was skillfully designed by Mike, who is a retired engineer.
Brandon Creative Forum is part of the creative collective, established in the first phase of MarketPlace. They are composed of individuals and volunteers from local community groups. Back in Autumn 2022, they approached MarketPlace with their idea for the performance area. They have delivered some wonderful projects over the past few years including Ferry Tales, Tails and Trails as well as stained glass window and lantern projects around Brandon. Brandon Creative Forum hope that the space will prove to be a valuable asset and are looking forward to seeing how it grows within the community.
In the future, this space will be available for hire, opening up even more creative opportunities for the area. Exciting times lie ahead, so mark your calendars and get ready to celebrate with us!
This year was the 60th anniversary of the Wisbech Rose Fair. After a few dormant years due to covid, events were set up around the town centre for the Fair’s return.
Free art activities were set up by MarketPlace in the courtyard of Wisbech & Fenland Museum. We supported the public to create an interactive, giant sculptural cross-stitch on the fences, plus communal stitching onto hessian fabric. We also provided the materials and support to make an artificial flower crown for people to keep.
Artist Karin Forman was there to facilitate the activities along with the MarketPlace team. Free cross stitch beginner packs were also given out to those who were interested to continue learning the craft at home.
We also listened to the community about their ideas and what they would like at future events. There were lots of conversations, with feedback, insights and the forging of new community relationships.
This year’s Chatteris Midsummer Festival was a fabulous hot weekend of parades, stalls, exhibitions and performances from wonderful local groups and organisations. MarketPlace was invited by the Town Council to provide a range of free activities to correspond with this year’s theme – Roaring Twenties.
We co-created a 1920’s photo booth with local photography group F-stop Camera Club, where people could dress up and have their photo taken against a beautiful 1920’s inspired backdrop. We were able to print the photos for people to take home with them or send them via email after the event.
Some local knitters and crocheters also joined the tent, providing a taster into how to knit and crochet, while our Programme Director Susie showed people how to quilt a hexagonal brooch. We also handed out some beginner crochet kits. Artist Karen Forman put together activities for all the family, supporting people to create 1920’s flapper headbands and Art Deco suncatchers.
We were asked to be one of the judges for the parade alongside Katherine from 20Twenty Productions. Prizes were awarded for best dressed adult group, best dressed children’s group and best individual along with other categories. The community groups put the costumes together themselves and all made such a wonderful effort.
The MarketPlace tent was buzzing all day. Members of the public were already keen to hear about our involvement next year and discussed setting up their own quilting groups. Smiles and laughter were all around at this year’s fair – we can’t wait for the next one!
More than 5,000 people from the local community joined the St George’s Festival in March, Fenland on Sunday 23 April 2023. MarketPlace partnered with Fenland District Council, 20Twenty productions, March Library and Cambridgeshire Skills to organise the event, including a range of activities and performances staged by local artists and groups.
In the month-long run up, MarketPlace delivered creative projects and workshops for adults and young people within the community. Artist Ricki Outis visited 9 local groups including Scouts, Cubs and Beavers, Hereward Community Rail Partnership, Macmillan Fundraising Committee, the Recovery Café and Edgy Women, to run screen printing workshops where over 500 participants created scales to decorate the parade dragon. Many participants had never imagined they might be able to take part in this type of creative experience. “I have never seen the Cubs so engaged in an art activity’ said Scout Leader, Gary Barnett.
Two walking poetry workshops were organised with contemporary poet Charley Genever for members of the public. On the day she performed two poems at the start and end of the festival.
Artist Cary Outis went around the town and drew his original dragon drawings on the windows of local shops, teasing the community into what was happening on St George’s Day. On the day, festival visitors drew their own dragons on the pavements while watching Cary draw a large dragon onto the window of the library.
Designed and created by the communities of Wisbech, Chatteris & March, the parade dragon became a magical moment of community creation and interaction, with the scales created in the workshops adorning the dragons’ bodies. The other MarketPlace activities throughout the day for families included storytelling with The Yarnsmith of Norwich, inspired by the dragon and medieval themes of the day, tote bag colouring, and a colouring competition.
“I’ve come to this event every year and this is the best it’s ever been”
A very successful St George’s Day Festival, showing how co-creation and co-operation with local organisations and community groups can work.
On the Spring Bank holiday the world premiere of Escape from Fort Lagoon came to Mildenhall. The quiet market town in Suffolk was the perfect place to host this one-of-a-kind immersive theatre production, with an epic game of cat and mouse along the banks of the River Lark.
Over the weekend, Mildenhall was transformed into a ‘luxury resort’ of the future. Escape from Fort Lagoon depicts a dystopian reality where water sources have tipped over the PH level safe for human consumption. Teams of players followed clues and solved puzzles throughout the town to escape the resort where all is not what it seems. Once they evaded capture, participants escaped to the sanctity of the river where they had the option to swim. The warm weather certainly helped, with lots of people taking the plunge into the river over the weekend.
“It was unlike anything I’d done before. A totally new type of immersive theatre. It was amazing! I feel brave!”
The participants who took part in this unique experience came from both the local area and further afield. When participants were asked if they would come to something like this again, 100% of them agreed.
There was lots of involvement from the local community. Brandon’s Happy to Sing Choir performed a piece especially composed for the show, while local drama group The Bunbury players, took on some of the acting roles. Members of Mildenhall Library’s craft group used their skills to make items for the ‘Water Museum’ and St John’s Walk ‘n’ Craft group led a watercolor activity in the precinct as part of the production.
Although light-hearted in tone, Escape from Fort Lagoon also makes a serious point about the quality of our waters, facing challenges such as plastic pollution and sewage discharge. Creators Wake the Beast teamed up with Surfers Against Sewage – ‘a charity campaigning for cleaner seas and rivers. 50% of booking fees from all ticket sales will be going to Surfers Against Sewage.
One participant said: “We have just managed to escape from Fort Lagoon. At times we had to run down the street. It was so exciting and such fun. It’s an amazing premise, because it could be our terrifying future without water, but it is light-hearted. At the end we got to have a glorious swim surrounded by the most beautiful music.”
Escape from Fort Lagoon, Mildenhall, was presented by Wake the Beast and Submersion Productions in collaboration with Marketplace – Creative People & Places.
“Loved the experience. So immersive, fun and just the right amount of scary!”
Delicates is a pilot project that was developed with MarketPlace by writer and creative facilitator Tassa Deparis . It was run in Newmarket – by mothers, for mothers. New mothers were able to unleash their imagination, exchange stories and develop ideas around new identities through a variety of creative outlets. The workshops, run by Tassa and Helen Baggett of Gecko Theatre were attended bya small group of mothers, creating a safe space to talk openly while their little ones are taken care of in a creche in a neighbouring room.
The workshops took place over three weeks where the group of mothers could try various creative outlets surrounding their identity in motherhood. The sessions also provided a space to discuss and think about their journey as mothers, and what that means for them as individuals but also as a group. Women in the room came from a range of different backgrounds. Despite this, the group felt unified under the shared experiences of motherhood, and the beauties and difficulties that go along with that.
Tassa Deparis talks about the Delicates project she facilitated
The project predominantly attracted new mothers on maternity leave and those with pre-school age children. Activities such as responding to the question ‘What is a mum?’ gave the group space to explore their identities and feelings surrounding motherhood.
“The women who took part in this project were so open and happy to tell their stories“
The women explored the transition from before motherhood to their present journey through the activities and discussions. The group came together through their shared and difference experiences. Lots of women feel isolated when they become mothers so the social aspect of the project was an important factor too.
This journey that many women go through is often undervalued, so the delicates project aimed to show the women the great importance and impact their place has in society.
Tassa Deparis, who led the group talks about the need for this kind of project; “The women who took part in this project were so open and happy to tell their stories, which showed a real hunger and need for projects like this to be developed, and more spaces for mothers to unpick this period of their life.”
“Everything we found and uncovered was so rich and so complicated. It really was ‘delicate’ material. There was beauty, humour, things that we felt privileged to be a part of, as well as things that were really difficult to explore.” – Tassa Deparis
With the success of the pilot, one of the aims is to have an artistic performance of some kind for an audience to consider the stories of mothers and how integral they are to a healthy and thriving society – watch this space!
Newmarket’s community lantern parade ‘Rivers of Light’ took place in February 2023, bringing some cheer to the winter nights for almost 600 local residents. The community gathered to celebrate the origins of Newmarket, the chalk streams that run through the town, and the local community groups. Inspired by ancient light festivals and the history of the Newmarket, residents paraded along The Yellow Brick Road with beautiful handmade lanterns.
Newmarket Community Arts and Newmarket Community Nature Reserve looked at previous research about the Newmarket Watercourse. Through investigation and talking to ecologist Kevin Hand, it became clear that Newmarket has chalk streams running through the town. Chalk streams are now listed as a priority habitat by the Environment Agency. Newmarket had a lantern parade a few years ago which was very popular, so Newmarket Community Arts and Newmarket Community Nature Reserve felt that another lantern parade would work well to bring people together and raise awareness about this unique habitat in Newmarket.
In the lead up to the event, Newmarket Community Arts worked with arts educator and illustrator Penny Sobr to deliver willow lantern making workshops to local groups including the Rainbows, Brownies and Guides, and the International Women’s Group organised by Sharing Parenting. There were six workshops in total with almost 200 people taking part. This included two free public drop-in workshops at The Racing Centre, to support the community in making their own willow lanterns for the parade.
Willow Lantern created at a worskshop
“Brilliant, fun, great community spirit and turnout”
There was almost 80 people performing, including musicians, dancers, and singers. With performances from Newmarket School of Dance and Slack McGirdle Morris Dancers, there was lots of entertainment along the way. A new song was also performed which was especially commissioned for the project.
The route started on the green on the Yellow Brick Road behind Frampton Close, where it took around 40 minutes for the parade to complete the journey. A shorter route of 20 minutes was also available for those who wished to join part way through. The parade then culminated at Studlands Park Social Club where there was food and live music to enjoy.
“Next year please!“
Rivers of Light was presented by Newmarket Community Arts in partnership with MarketPlace – Creative People and Places and Newmarket Community Nature Reserve.
