On Saturday 18th June we held a Yard Party here at the Centre to celebrate the Queens 90th Birthday and also raise funds for Barnardo’s as part of their Big Toddle Week.
At short notice, and with the help of willing studio holders, a thoroughly enjoyable day was had by all who visited the Centre.
Highlights included “Painting for Little Hands”, organised by Kara of the Art Loft, the Corner Studio & Eiren Silk organised some fantastic activities for the kids, whilst Byron and his team in the Garden Centre set up some fun planting activities, the highlight of which was “Plant a bean for the Queen”...all overlooked by a wonderful cardboard cut out of the Queen!!
The Pedal Station were out on the front of the Weighbridge Workshops setting a cycling challenge, Allan Cannell of G.A. Cannell Memorials was demonstrating his Stone hand letter cutting technique, whilst Lichfield Falconry showcased some of their wonderful birds of prey.
The Farm Shop were selling delicious ice cream and the Antique Centre set up a Gazebo out the front of their centre. What a great bunch of talented studio holders we have!
We also had visitors from the Handmade Boutique (http://www.handmade-boutique.co.uk) – a group of creative designers – who set up their shop in one of our marquees for the day.
Last but not least, the Yard looked great with our large marquees out, fully equipped with Union Jack bunting. Here, we had a magician, welly wanging and lots of delicious treats served up by Mabel’s Tearoom. It was free entry to the event and our generous visitors to the site helped us to raise £153.85 for Barnardo’s.
Thanks to everyone that contributed to a lovely day.
We are excited to announce that we will be holding a Yard Party here at the Centre on Saturday 18th June (free entry). It will be a family fun day with lots of activities for children.
Despite the cold, wet weather over the May Bank Holiday weekend, spirits were not at all dampened during our Festival of Artists event which was a roaring success and attracted lots of visitors to the Centre.
This was our third year running the event, and the centre was simply swarming with creativity with over 50 artists on display across the site. As well as exhibiting their artwork, the artists provided live demonstrations of their skills covering such a broad cross section of art including painting, drawing, wood turning, stone-carving & textiles, amongst others.
The two new large marquees that were erected at the front of the centre worked really well and enabled us to accommodate even more artists than in previous years.
Another new feature this year was the inaugural Geoff Hollinshead Award. This was presented to Martin Carty (pictured above) who won the award for the best piece of artwork on display. Martin’s beautiful paintings showcased his wonderful talent and his name is the first to go on the Honours Board! However, it is fair to say that the judges’ decision was exceedingly difficult and any of the artists on display would have been worthy winners as the standard of art on view was simply exceptional.
As always, a big thank you for all the hard work put in to organising the event by Kara Strachan of the Art Loft. Last but not least, thank you to all the wonderful artists. We look forward to being inspired by you all again next year!
In the meantime, don’t forget to pop in and visit our on-site artists and picture framers who are here all year round: Eden Gallery, Home of Colours, Kara Strachan – The Art Loft, Lime Sky: Studio & Gallery, & Lion House Art.
