The Festival of Lights is returning to Caldmore Community Garden on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th November 2025 — and we want you to be part of the magic!
There are plenty of ways for local families, groups, and individuals to get involved in this year’s Lantern Procession on Sunday 9th November. From making your own lantern to joining our movement workshops, everyone is welcome to help light up Caldmore!
Lantern-Making Workshops
Wednesday 29th October – Family Lantern Making Workshop 11am–2pm Caldmore Community Garden, WS1 3RH Delivered by Bostin’ Arts, this fun and creative workshop is perfect for families and children to make their very own lanterns to carry in the Festival of Lights procession.
Saturday 1st November -Garden Saturday: Join the Procession Movement & Puppetry Workshop!
Would you like to be part of the Lantern Procession on Sunday 9th November? Now’s your chance!
This Saturday 1st November, join Autin Dance Theatre at Caldmore Community Garden for a special Garden Saturday workshop. Families are invited to learn how to move together as a group, carrying beautifully lit-up props that will form part of this year’s magical Festival of Lights procession.
You’ll also get to explore the basics of puppetry — discovering how to bring props and creatures to life through movement, rhythm, and teamwork.
This friendly, creative workshop is open to everyone, of all ages – no experience needed!
Monday 3rd November – Women’s Lantern Workshop at Aaina Community Hub 11am–2pm Aaina Community Hub, 1 Bath Road, Walsall WS1 3BZ A relaxed and welcoming women-only session with Bostin’ Arts — create your lantern and connect with others in a creative, friendly space.
Thursday 6th November – Tots Lantern Session 10.30am–12pm Caldmore Community Garden Our regular Tots at the Garden session will be all about little lights! Bring your little one to make a lantern for the procession. This session will be delivered by Bostin’ Arts
Saturday 8th November –Lantern Making with New Art Gallery Walsall 4pm – 5.30pm Caldmore Community Garden Your last chance to make a lantern before the big night! Drop in and get creative with New Art Gallery Walsall — all materials provided. Together, we’ll light up Caldmore with creativity, colour, and community spirit. We can’t wait to see you there!
With thanks to National Lottery Community Fund and Arts Council England for making these opportunities possible!
Join us on Saturday 20th September for a fun packed family day welcoming Autumn to the garden!
12-4pm
We’re celebrating the changing seasons with a day of family fun, this year we’re working in partnership with Froglife, who will be showcasing their Coalface to Wildspace project.
What’s On
Exhibitions, stalls & creative activities with Juneau Projects
Arts & crafts inspired by autumn, hibernation, frogs & mushrooms
The Mushroom Show by Scratchworks Theatre at 1pm – a magical performance for all ages
Interactive workshop with the theatre company at 2pm (spaces limited to 30 participants – you can book your spot in the interval)
Come along, get creative, and celebrate autumn with us!
with thanks to National Lottery Community Fund, Heritage Fund and Black Country Touring for making this event possible
Step into an inspiring world of stories, games, and shared experiences with multidisciplinary artist Tina Hofman – performer, director, researcher, and co-founder of Notnow Collective and the Migrants in Theatre network. Born in former Yugoslavia, Tina’s work is rooted in movement and storytelling foregrounding questions of memory, chaos and fantasy, care, and migrancy.
Across three playful and immersive workshops, participants will explore themes of Home, Journeys, and Community. Guided by Tina’s signature approach – from participatory performance, dynamic storytelling, sensory experiences, and multilingual games – each session is an invitation to connect, create, and reflect together.
The workshops will culminate in the Tile Shifting Mural – a collective artwork built tile-by-tile, each representing personal identity, memories, and ideas related to the Yam from Here project. Through visual design and short audio descriptions, the mural becomes a shared space for dialogue, inclusivity, and discovery.
Expect laughter, learning, and a celebration of diverse voices. Whether through games, choral storytelling, or creative making, you’ll contribute “a little piece of me for the whole of us” – leaving with not just art, but a stronger sense of community.
Find out more: tinahofman.org | @hofmanica | notnowcollective.com
Delivered by the European’s Welfare Association
Funded by Heritage Lottery Fund
What?
A free workshop series exploring Home. Journeys and Community in the Black Country hosted by theatre-maker Tina Hofman.
From storytelling, performance-art and tile-making, each session is an invitation to connect, create and reflect together.
Join us for our annual Easter Egg Hunt Event this April at Caldmore Community Garden.
– 12:30pm and 3pm- Easter Egg Hunt for children aged 1-4 years old.
Little ones must be accompanied by a grown- up, no older siblings allowed in the tots area. Please don’t be late!
– 1pm to 3pm- Easter Egg Hunt Trail for older children-
Complete an Easter Egg Trail, solve the clues and claim your chocolate egg! No need to come at a specific hour, your child can do it at any time during the event.
– 2pm – Concert by Karolina Wegrzyn – Award winning polish folk singer and Multi instrumentalist.
There will be lots of other activities, including:
Easter arts and crafts
Tombola
Face- painting
Cakes and drinks at our community Café.
It’s a Pay as you feel event- we are a charity and need your support putting events like this for the benefit of the local community. Put some spare cash into a box or pay by card to help us bring you more activities in the future.
We are very excited to announce that we have received £24,199fromthe Youth Music Trailblazer Fund for a new programme of music education for children at the Garden!
The project will be delivered at the Garden in partnership with the amazing B’Opera – opera for babies and young children.
The project includes:
the continuation of our weekly First Songs sessions every Friday 10am – 12pm;
four Relaxed Concerts at the Garden;
new after-school choir for children and their families.
Come and join us, watch your child explore the sensory world of sounds and music, and enjoy the beautiful space of Caldmore Community Garden!
The Sleeping Seeds – A playful music theatre show for families. Two musical gardeners go on an adventure to raise a seedling and raise a racket. Rake & Roll!!
The Sleeping Seeds are a pair of musical gardeners who have a very special seed asleep in their seed bed. Join them as they nurture and encourage this little seed to mature and take its place in the world. Expect catchy songs, unusual instruments and fun joining in!
This is a relaxed performance for all ages and includes integrated British Sign Language.
The performance will be outdoors and will go ahead whatever the weather, so please come prepared (raincoats & wellies or sun hat & suncream!).
We will have some rain cover if needed. In the event of extreme weather please check social media for notifications about the performance.
Sunday 25th August 2024
The garden will open from 1pm and the performance will start at 2pm
Tickets are FREE or ‘pay what you can’ via Black Country Touring
Join us at Caldmore Community Garden on Saturday 20th July for our Summer Garden Party!
We will be joined by HandMade Theatre who will be performing their puppet show Tell Me A Story in the garden at 1pm and 3pm. Look out for them walking about the garden during the day!
‘Everyone has a story to tell and a memory to share. Unlock yours in this family adventure down memory lane, experience the stories of people, places and objects we hold dear.’ Tell Me A Story is a show lovingly created by HandMade Theatre. The piece explores childhood memories and draws inspiration from our creative work in care homes for those with dementia. This piece aims to bring generations together to share their stories, exploring experiences of childhood and unlocking the similarities and differences we all share. A fun family show featuring HandMade Theatre’s signature mix of dynamic storytelling, live music, original songs, beautiful puppets and colourful characters.
Suitable for children aged 2-10 and their families. We particularly encourage parents and Grandparents to join their children in a shared experience together.
Poets, Prattlers, and Pandemonialists will be adding a poetry vibe to the day. Pop by to see Gracey Bee at her Poet Tree, and she’ll help you to create rhyming poetry to hang amongst its branches.
Or why not ask for a poem of your own to take away? Emma Purshouse and Steve Pottinger will be writing Poetry on Demand. You could request a poem for yourself or a loved one. Or perhaps ask for a poem written about your favourite aspect of nature.
Gracey, Emma, and Steve will also be happy to talk to you about what to expect from the poetry workshops that Poets, Prattlers, and Pandemonialists will be running over the next few months at Caldmore Community Garden.
To celebrate the beginning of the summer holidays there will be a bouncy castle, face painter, arts and crafts, family games to play and a Nature Treasure Hunt to solve with prizes to win.
The Community Cafe will be open so pop in and grab yourself a slice of tasty cake!
We look forward to seeing you on Saturday for lots of fun in the garden!
Thank you to Black Country Touring for their support
Thank you to the Inclusive Communities Fund award, with this fund we will be able to empower our community, address real issues and create a lasting legacy.
Thanks to the Heart of England Community Foundation, West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), United by Legacy, UKGOV and the Commonwealth Games organisers for this incredible opportunity
Join us for a Community Fun Day for dads and their kids – come and join us for an afternoon of circus, creativity, and a campfire!
– Thingamabob by Matt Pang – performances at 12:30 and 2pm With an internationally renowned blend of circus, invention and humour, Matt Pang brings to life a giant ball slinging, self exploding piece of handcrafted gadgetry, inspired by the famous Rube Goldberg machines and Heath Robinson contraptions.
– Arts and crafts – make a Father’s Day card!
– Home-made cake and campfire – toast some bread and marshmallows over the fire!
It’s a Pay as You Feel event – please donate to the Garden to support our future events and activities. There will be donation buckets and a possibility of paying by card, too – you can also visit our Local Giving page https://localgiving.org/charity/caldmorevillagefestival/project/CCG/.
Organised with support from Black Country Touring, West Midlands Combined Authority’s Inclusive Communities fund and the National Lottery Community Fund.
We’re recruiting a Creative Projects Co-Ordinator to join our friendly team. You will work closely with artists and partners, help put on events, and engage with the local community, community groups, volunteers and creatives. You will contribute to the planning, evaluation and delivery of the arts programme.
The successful applicant will have a passion for creative arts, poetry, performance and strong co-ordination and admin skills. You will be experienced in working creatively with a range of artists and organisations and be committed to working with communities and artists in Walsall.
Contract: 2 days a week, June to December 2024.
Salary: £14-£15 per hour (£25,480 – 27,300 pro rata), depending on skills and experience.
Download the Recruitment Pack as a Word Document or PDF below to find out how to apply. If you’d like to talk with someone in the team before you apply, e-mail caldmoregarden@gmail.com.
Email your completed application to Anna Webster at caldmoregarden@gmail.com by 8am on Monday 13th May 2024.
The arts programme at Caldmore Community Garden is funded by West Midlands Combined Authority’s Inclusive Communities Programme operated by the Heart of England Community Foundation. The poetry project is co-funded by Black Country Touring.
What’s On 
Come along, get creative, and celebrate autumn with us!
Easter arts and crafts
Caldmore Community Garden 