The fourth annual Frome Kindness Festival returns this week with the theme ‘Kindness is a Superpower,’ from Saturday 15th March to Saturday 22nd March.
MP Anna Sabine is due to launch the event, which is the UK’s longest-running Kindness Festival and was enjoyed by over 5,000 visitors last year.
Organised by The Good Heart, the festival is set to be bigger and more varied than ever, with over 40 events taking place during the week, many free of charge.
Family-friendly activities will include a Superhero Fun Run, a Super Eco-Craft and Toy Swap, an eco-friendly River Walk and pop-up events throughout the town designed to help residents celebrate their own local superheroes.
Kindness Festival volunteers are also leading superhero-themed assemblies in 11 different schools.
On Saturday 15th March, the Frome Grief Network will be formally launched by the Mayor, Cllr Andy Jones, providing a gentle space for listening and conversation about how to receive and offer support in difficult times.
A partnership with international charity The Forgiveness Project will include an evening talk from founder Marina Cantacuzino MBE, a week-long exhibition called ‘The F Word – Images of Forgiveness’ and a full day of workshops and discussion exploring the connection between forgiveness and kindness on Saturday 22nd March.
The festival’s programme also includes an award-winning comedy drama called The Duke, an evening of Kind Comedy, a Grief Disco, the premiere of a video called ‘Menkind’ about the male viewpoint on being kind, an afternoon of heart-warming music featuring four Frome choirs and Kind/Unkind, a guided walk devised by a local historian.
The festival will wrap up on Saturday 22nd March to the uplifting sounds of the Frome Rock Choir and Frome Street Bandits.
“Over 100 local people and organisations have spent months preparing for our biggest event of the year,” says coordinator Jess Francombe. “They’re doing an incredible job.
“We hope that visitors to the Kindness Festival will have as much fun as we’ve all had in putting it together. In a world where you can be anything, be kind.”
Full listings and how to book are available at www.thegoodheart.uk/festival and on Facebook and Instagram.
SUN 16TH MARCH
* Celebrating Frome: banner making, 10am-2pm, Library
* Superhero Fun Run 1lam warm up with Mojo Moves, 11.30am start, The Old Showfield
* Frome Grief Network:nWorkshops, talks & information sharing, Midday-5pm, Rook Lane Chapel
* The Duke by Shôn Dale Jones, Doors 7pm, Starts 7.30pm, Rook Lane Chapel
SUN 16TH MARCH
* Super Eco-Craft and Toy Swap: Frome Families for the Future, 10am-2pm, The Silk Mill
* Kindness to Yourself with Dan Lupton 10am-3pm, Online
* Songs and Scones: Heart-warming music from four local choirs, 2pm, St John’s Church
* Ezra Herring Piano Recital 3.30pm, Christchurch
MON 17TH MARCH
* Children’s Clothes Swap 9.30am-llam, Wesley Church
* Celebrating Trinity: Community banner making, 3.15-5pm, Milk Street Green
* Heart Song Sound Workshop with Annie Bourne, 7pm, The Bennett Centre
TUES 18TH MARCH
* Celebrating Edmund Park: Community banner making, 3.15-5pm, Edmund Park Play Park
* Forgiveness & Kindness: An Exploration with Marina Cantacuzino MBE, 7pm, Frome Town Hall
WEDS 19TH MARCH
* Kind/Unkind: a social history walk with Lisa Kenwright, 12.30-1.30pm, Secret location
* Grief Tending Frome with Lisbet Michelson and Mandy Criffiths, 7pm, The Good Heart
* Menkind: Video & Discussion 7pm, The Crown, Keyford
THURS 20TH MARCH
* Frome’s Great British Spring Clean 9.45am, Meet at Boyle Cross
* Celebrating Packsaddle: Community banner making, 3.15-5pm, Packsaddle Play Park
* Kind Comedy Night 7.30pm, The Tunnels
FRI 21ST MARCH
* Kindness to the Body: Feldenkrais Method, gratitude practice & kind yoga, 3-7pm, RISE
* Climate Fresk with Sarah Poppy Jackson and Madeleine Mauer, 9.30am-12.30pm, Town Hall
* Grief Disco 7-10.30pm, The Lucky Chance
SAT 22ND MARCH
* The F Word: Exploring the Hot Topic of Forgiveness, 9.30am-4.30pm, Bennett Centre
* River Walk & Talk with Green & Healthy Frome, 10am-1pm
* Frome Busks with Frome College, 10am-2pm, Town Centre
* Kind/Unkind: a social history walk with Lisa Kenwright, 3-4pm, Secret location
* Rock Choir 4pm, Town Centre
* Closing Party with Frome Street Bandits, 4.45pm, Bennett Centre
