Festival of Lights 2022

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The free Festival of Lights returns for two days at Caldmore Community Garden on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th November 2022. The festival provides a free celebration of diverse cultural and artistic traditions and brings people together across cultures to enjoy arts and creativity for all ages.

Caldmore Community Garden will be illuminated to create a place where diverse traditions of Diwali, Bonfire Night, and All Soul’s Eve meet to light up the night and open the doors to all the community.

Saturday 5h November:
– 6pm – Animal Magic by storyteller Peter Chand and Fox & Rocha

Sunday 6th November
– 5.45 meet at the Garden for the Lantern Procession
– 7pm fire performance by Helter Skelter Arts

Gates open half an hour earlier with hot drinks and cake at our community cafe.

Saturday 5th November will see a performance of ‘Animal Magic’ from Peter Chand and Fox & Rocha at 6:00pm. Join Storyteller Peter Chand and musical maestros Fox & Rocha for a family session of stories and songs from around the world. You will encounter fantastic tales of elephants with small noses, preening peacocks and misbehaving crows. A toe-tapping interactive and lively evening awaits you as this delightful trio returns to Caldmore Community Garden.

On Sunday 6th November the joyous and beautiful Lantern Procession will start off the evening at 5:45p.m. The procession, led by fiddle player Adrian Ward, will walk from the Community Garden to Caldmore Green. Pick up a lantern created by the school children from Caldmore Primary Academy, toddlers and families from Caldmore Tots group and the community of Caldmore. Alternatively, bring your own torches and join in the fun. We will light up the streets of Caldmore and invite everyone to accompany us on our way back to the Garden.

Return to the Garden for an incredible free, fire performance, at 7pm by Helter Skelter Arts that will light up the Garden with their flames and daring stunts! A great show for all the family. (Keep an eye out for the duo around the Garden as well, as they paint patterns and images in the air with their amazing LED props)!

The festival is delivered by Caldmore Village Festival Group and funded by The National Lottery Community Fund, Black Country Touring, whg and Children In Need.

Head Gardener – free theatre performance at Caldmore Community Garden on Saturday 15th October at 6pm

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Yes, many of us have known this for some time, but one of the more pleasant outcomes of a global pandemic has been that more and more people have embraced the simple pleasure of growing things.

From windowsill herb gardens to grand projects, the nation has been getting down and dirty with the soil and the seeds, the roots and the tubers.

Brothers Jake and Warren Oldershaw have been propagating a delightful theatre show that digs deep into the reasons why we could all do with a bit more horticulture in our lives.

While Jake has been performing (showing off) for over 25 years, Warren has grown himself a nice career as a garden designer. This is the first time they’ll appear in a show together since the Nativity incident in 1980.

During each performance they’ll design, draught and bring to life a unique and beautiful garden; share fascinating stories of different plants and species; tell personal tales of why gardening is so important for mental health, and maybe even throw a few songs into the mix.

Door open at 5:30pm for 6pm start. Hot drinks and cake will be served at the cafe.

It’s an outdoor venue, so please come prepared for the weather!

To book in advance, go to https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-head-gardener-tickets-416606279597 or just turn up on the day.

Women’s Tuesdays: Nature linocut project with Alix Almond

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Inspired by the flora and fauna of Caldmore Community Garden we will create linocut prints celebrating the diversity of the garden and the beauty that can be found. Linocut is great for focusing on the details and texture found within nature. We will carve and print greetings card and print designs – experimenting with colour and technique – and exhibit our finished prints and well as hand-printing our work to sell as cards and prints – unique designs for a unique setting.

Over seven weeks we will explore the techniques of linocut; starting with a single colour print that can be used to print greetings cards and then moving on to creating prints that use several colours; either through a layered print technique or a reduction linocut technique.

It doesn’t matter if you are a complete beginner – this versatile technique will bring out the artist in everyone! We will be using non-toxic inks and learning hand printing techniques to ensure that this is a really accessible process. Prepare to be bitten by the printing bug!

Workshop dates:

  • Tuesday 4th October 10am -1pm
  • Tuesday 11th October 10am -1pm
  • Tuesday 25th October 10am -1pm
  • Tuesday 1st November 10am – 1pm
  • Tuesday 8th November 10am – 1pm
  • Tuesday 15th November 10am – 1pm
  • Tuesday 22nd November 10am – 1pm

To book, e-mail caldmoregarden@gmail.com, txt / Whatsapp 07871813252, or send us a message. Spaces are limited and booking is advisable!

Free entry!

Alix is a printmaker and artist based in Coventry. She is a full time artist and splits her time between making art and teaching linocut workshops at venues around Coventry and Warwickshire. Alix is a predominantly self taught printmaker; she began printmaking after attending a workshop in November 2015 at Birmingham Printmakers and the bug was well and truly caught! She creates single colour, multi-block and reduction linocut prints. She also creates pencil and pencil crayon drawings. Her drawings are ‘true to life’ but her linocuts have a more contemporary feel. Alix enjoys creating images of animals and birds and takes inspiration from nature. She captures the character and detail of the animals, forgoing background to concentrate on the beauty, patterns and textures that can be found. She works from home – printing in her kitchen, usually with a spoon! Recently she has begun to experiment with a multi-layered coloured technique using translucent inks and a printing press. She aims to be as environmentally friendly as possible in her printing methods and materials.

Contact details:
www.alixalmond.com
Instagram: @alixalmond
Facebook: @AlixAlmondArt
alixalmond@hotmail.co.uk

Funded by The National Lottery Community Fund and People’s Health Trust

Batty Evening with Brum Bats – Saturday 1st October 6-8pm

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Join us for an exciting evening at the Community Garden with pizza from our wood-fired oven and a talk about all things bats – Bekie from Brum Bats will tell us all about bat life and habits, and we will have a go at using bat detectors to see what bats we have in Caldmore.

Children must be accompanied by adults. Please wrap up warm and bring a torch as it will get dark while we are in the Garden.

Booking is necessary, please e-mail us on caldmoregarden@gmail.com or txt / Whatsapp 07871813252.

Funded by West Midlands Combined Authority Green Grants.

Free Seed Saving Workshop with Heritage Seed Library – Tuesday 20th September – 12-3pm

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Seed saving might seem like a dark art but once you get into it you realise how satisfying it can be to take one step further towards self-sufficiency in your growing. This course will introduce you to the rationale behind seed saving and give plenty of practical examples of the process. We will also introduce you to some of the fascinating varieties within Garden Organic’s Heritage Seed Library.

Session will cover:
• Reasons for saving seed saving
• Extracting seed from key crops
• How to improve the purity of your seed
• Storing seed

To book, please e-mail caldmoregarden@gmail.com, send a message on Facebook or Whatsapp / text us on 07871813252.

About Garden Organic
Garden Organic is the national charity for organic growing. We have been around since 1958 and have over 20 000 members. Our goal is simple – to get people growing organically. We do this in lots of ways:
• Working with communities providing them with support in their growing
• Providing horticultural advice to gardeners
• Campaigning on topical issues such as the use of peat or pesticides
• Preserving traditional and heirloom varieties in our Heritage Seed Library
• Researching into organic gardening techniques

We also have an organic demonstration garden at Ryton on Dunsmore just outside Coventry, where you can book onto to tours and workshops. For further information visit: www.gardenorganic.org.uk.

Our Gardening Workshops are funded by The National Lottery Community Fund – Reaching Communities.

Buzz in the Meadow Family Fun Day – 24th September 2022 – 12-4pm

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A woodland themed day of fun full of family activities. Come and meet our Meadow Sprites – watch magical meadow creatures take over the Garden in a bewitching performance by Curious Cargo theatre group brought to you in association with Black Country Touring.

Other attractions include:
– Fairy Garden arts and crafts.
– Make your own leaf cast with artist sophia moffa from “A Sense of Place” project.
– Drinks and home-made cakes at our community cafe.
– Come dressed up as a woodland creature or a fairy!

All activities are free.

AHOY! Pirates, Mermaids and Sea Monsters at Caldmore Community Garden

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Save the date!

Preparations have started for our next event – AHOY! Pirates, Mermaids and Sea Monsters – come and join us on Sunday 7th August, 12-4pm for a wonderful day full of theatre performances with Clementines Live Arts‘s Ernie’s Journey, treasure hunts, and marine-themed fun for all the family!

Attractions will include:

  • 2pm – Ernie’s Journey – performance by Clementines Live Arts followed by family workshops.
  • The Hunt for Pirate Treasure for children.
  • Pirates, mermaids and sea monsters arts and crafts.
  • Free face-painting, bouncy castle, and ice-cream for children.
  • Drinks and home-made cake at our community cafe.

Come dressed up in a sea-themed costume or as your favourite character!

Free Summer Play Scheme at Caldmore Community Garden

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Register now for our free summer holiday play scheme at Caldmore Community Garden!

It will be a mix of nature activities, arts and crafts, forest school, science, and lots of outdoor play.

For children aged 8-12 only.

Free lunch (halal, vegetarian) will be provided.

You can book a place for up to 2 weeks and your child will have to attend the full week – Tuesday to Friday 12-3pm.

Fill in the form tinyurl.com/summerplayscheme by Friday 15th July and we will be in touch on Monday 18th July to confirm your child’s space.

Magic Little Grant for our Caldmore Tots!

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Our Caldmore Tots project has received a Magic Little Grant through the partnership between Localgiving and Postcode Local Trust!

Postcode Local Trust is a grant-giving charity funded by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

Localgiving is the UK’s leading membership and support network for local charities and community groups. Our project received £500 towards materials for our Caldmore Tots playgroup which provides sensory play activities, outdoor learning and play, and social interaction for children under 4 and of course their adults!

To learn more abou Magic Little Grants, visit their website: www.localgiving.org/magic-little-grants/

Animal Man

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On Saturday July 9th we will welcome the Animal Man at the Garden again! 

You are able to book a space for one hour Animal Man session and 1 hour picnic at the Garden, after which we will ask you to leave swiftly to make space for the next group. 

Session times are: 12-1.50pm (with Animal Man 1-1.50pm) and 2-3.50pm (with Animal Man 2-2.50pm).

This is a Caldmore Tots event and spaces are very limited – only children aged 2-6 allowed. Unfortunately we will not be able to include older siblings. 

Please bring your own food and drinks for the picnic.

If you have any questions, please call Anna on 07871813252.

We will confirm your space by Tuesday 5th July. Please let us know if you can’t attend for any reason so that we can give your space to another person on the waiting list.

Animal Man’s visit is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.

Link to the booking form: https://forms.gle/2Qqkg3GTnUishYfb6