By Kate Hodges
04th October 2018
EVENT Houses of Fun
The Fun Palaces campaign was dreamt up in the 1960s by theatre director Joan Littlewood, to create a community-based ‘laboratory of fun’, places for people of all ages and backgrounds to get creative with art and science. This weekend, you’ll find community-led events taking place across the country, head to Bodmin for campfires, foraging and storytelling, find green screen workshops, corn dolly making and special effect make-up larks at Chichester Festival Theatre, or fermentation and food in Folkestone. There are hundreds of events taking place across the country in libraries, arts centres and cinemas – create your own incredible weekend!
EVENT and MAKE Get Fleeced
It’s UK Wool Week! Why not celebrate by doing some yarn-based crafts? Perhaps start at the beginning; find some sheep’s wool on a walk and make a mini drop spindle to turn it into thread. Now to turn that into something more beautiful. This branch loom not only teaches kids the art of weaving, but also makes a lovely, cosy decoration when it’s finished. We adore all of Sew Yeah’s projects, but with Hallowe’en on the horizon, why not start making some spooky pompoms? Find lots more inspiring wool craft ideas here
DO and COOK Fungi Town
Woods, forests and fields have all taken on the smell of autumn, reminding us that it’s a great time for mushroom foraging. There are good guides for beginners to fungus foraying here and here. Showcase their earthy deliciousness with basic recipes such as Nigel Slater’s Courgette and Wild Mushroom Sauté or Hugh F-W’s Wild Mushroom Risotto or save them up for the winter in a pickle.
LEARN and EVENT Black Powered
October is Black History Month. Find events to celebrate and learn here, including Merseyside Maritime Museum’s exhibition that uncovers 500 years of Black British seafaring and London’s Black SuperSheroes exhibition and workshops The Guardian has an excellent collection of BHM-related articles here and ideas for teaching here. We’ve also curated a list of our favourite books to inspire you and your kids to learn more about the culture and acheivements of people of black and ethnic minority heritage here.
EVENT A Bit Sketchy
Every year, October’s Big Draw festival brings hundreds of events to families across the country, encouraging everyone to sharpen up their pencils and get sketching for a whole month. This year, the mission is Play - it’s all about learning and building self worth through having fun, so you’ll find dozens of pageants, disco doodling, puppet making and animation workshops being held at galleries, museums and public spaces across the country. This weekend, find painting remote control cars and paint ball wall fights in Tamworth, bark ink drawing in the Surrey hills near Guildford, and sessions at Apple stores across the country. Perhaps you’ll contribute to a huge communal drawing, learn how to sketch with a real-life illustrator, or try your hand at street art? Full line-up of UK events here
