FROME-based family support charity, Purple Elephant, is positively popping with excitement about the plans for the town’s annual Frome Children’s Festival.
Running at its fullest size ever and building on the success of nine years of free fun for all young people in the area, this day-long, multi-site event has continued and grown in its aims to ensure that young people have their day as well as their fun day. The free Frome Children’s Festival opens, for one day only, at 10am on Sunday 23rd July.
With no need to book ahead, the team behind the annual much-loved family event have consulted and collaborated with children and young people to shape a day of 40+ activities plus many more that are accessible.
A spokesperson for Purple Elephant said, “In-line with the passions and concerns of this active and compassionate generation of young Fromies, local schools and groups have selected the theme of Climate Change for 2023.”
Project managers Lenka Grimes and Azeema Caffoor said, “The event is very much theirs. Activities such as the amazing Teen-Tent with its silent disco and mocktail bar, have been chosen by them.”
As well as designing the poster for the Children’s Festival and making a promotional video, the young people involved will also be onsite running activities based around recycling and reuse, making badges from scrap materials, repurposing T-shirts, and, to support nature’s hands-on experiences for all, making bee hotels and terrariums.
There will be an assessment of the climate impact of the event, led by young people, with lots of recycling bins across the site which they have made especially for the day. Young people and children will also be creating, from scrap materials, the fabulous festival decorations which will festoon the site, from the Cheese and Grain, all the way along Welshmill woods, into the park and right up the opposite bank of the river to the Roundhouse.
Sticking with the theme of Climate Change, there will also be several recycled craft workshops, plus a purpose-built photo booth run by young people, where festival-goers can record how they feel about Climate Change, as well as special showings from the Climate Film Festival, in a mini cinema. The young people of Frome will also be facilitating the mural-painting in Welshmill Park, to get climate messages across creatively and clearly.
This year’s event will have a particularly strong Arts focus, thanks to funding from Arts Council England.
With several theatre performances, plus dance, magic and puppets, entertainment will be offered to all. Together with pond dipping, den building and fun in the woods, there will also be plenty of opportunity to get in touch with nature. And, of course, the ever-popular zip wires will criss-cross the river offering the chance to join in and be active all day long.
A spokesperson for Purple Elephant said, “Thanks to support from Arts Council England, Frome Town Council, the Rotary Clubs of Frome, Selwood Housing, Green and Healthy Frome, the Postcode Lottery, Fair Frome and sponsors Café La Strada, and Catherine Court Dentistry, the free Frome Children’s Festival on 23rd July looks set to be a very successful start to the school summer holidays!”
You can learn more about this free Frome family day, as well as offering a suggested donation of £5 per child to ensure it returns every year, as well as offering support to all of Purple Elephant’s year-round family and child services, at www.PurpleElephant.org.uk
