Steeple Aston Platinum Jubilee Weekend (360G-OCF-A636860)

We will be holding a 'Fete at the Gate' on 4th June and a Village Picnic, including 'Whit Races' on 5th June. We will additionally be creating a living storybook, an audio archive of villager's memories of the Coronation and previous Jubilee Celebrations for inclusion in our village archive (Steeple Aston Village Archive). The ‘Fete at the Gate’ and ‘Jubilee Reflections’ are the creative thrust and form the majority of this grant application. Fete at the Gate, 4th June This event is about enabling the creativity of each and every villager. It uses culture to encourage everyone to get out, enjoy the village and talk. Houses will be bedecked with community made, upcycled bunting and villagers encouraged to decorate both houses and gardens to reflect the jubilee. Households will organise stalls on their drives or in their gardens, selling everything from bric-a-brac (encouraging recycling) to handicrafts (showcasing local artistic talent). Connecting this all, a new map of the village will be commissioned from a local artist, leading people around the village and including ‘Jubilee Reflections’ on its reverse. Whilst a relatively small village, the physical layout and broad demographic lend themselves to an increasingly less cohesive community. There are ‘pockets’ of community, in different streets, or particular groups, but little, if anything, that brings us together as a ‘whole village’ community. With this project, we aim to be as inclusive and accessible as possible, with the maximum opportunity for full community engagement. • Bunt-ing the Village – a community crafting project creating bunting to decorate the whole village, using recycled materials donated by residents. This will include: - Access - running free bunting making workshops for the community at Sports & Rec, Village Hall, pub and through village groups, such as the Brownies, Valentine Club (over 60s). Free creative packs will be available for home delivery too. - Education - teaching new skills, particularly sewing and printing, encouraging our youngest residents to colour/paint paper bunting, and our more creative to knit, crochet…. A range of templates will cater for all levels of creativity/skill/dexterity. - Support - supporting local, independent businesses in the creative and hospitality sectors, from our village pub and local craft/printing studio to community facilities. - Environment - Encouraging the re-use of materials, including fabric (clothing, bedding etc), paper/card, wood etc, to create bunting which becomes a resource for future village events, e.g., our Horticultural Shows. - Socialising - Get the community working together, both in the creating and hanging of the bunting. • Stalls – Whether on the lawn, drive or doorstep, this activity is accessible to all, providing the opportunity to: - Showcase village community groups, increasing awareness and encouraging wider participation. - Highlight the wealth of creative talent in the village. - Encourage people to build new, lasting social connections. - Raise funds for village groups/projects through charity sales. • Village Map – Working with a village based artist, we will revisualise the village map for 2022, highlighting those areas and houses participating in ‘Fete at the Gate’, including artistic impressions of some of the village’s key features and, on the reverse, exerts from our ‘Jubilee Reflections’ project. This will: - Provide commissioned work for a local artist. - Create a lasting visual print memory of the day. - Encourage people to explore the village. - Promote the Jubilee Reflections project (see below). • Jubilee Decorations – Halloween and Christmas see villagers mustering their artistic skills to create elaborate displays. In addition to the bunting, we will encourage all to get creative again and decorate their properties in a way suitable to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee. This will: - Encourage families to get creative together (and away from screens). - Create another reason for people to wander around the village on a day meant for community celebration. Souvenir Jubilee Poster Designed by a resident artist, this 50s themed poster will be sold at a subsidised cost, as a souvenir. This will: - Provide commissioned work to a local artist. - Create an artwork to live in all households, as a souvenir of the occasion. - Contribute towards the funding of the village’s Jubilee Orchard, creating a lasting reminder of the Jubilee, with all proceeds from the sale (after costs) being donated to this project. Jubilee Reflections Culture is reflected through the tales told and the voices heard within a village. Not wanting to overlook this, we will create a living story book - an audio archive of Platinum Jubilee memories. This will feature interviews with those who have memories of the Coronation, the Silver & Golden Jubilees and vox pops recorded over the Platinum Jubilee Weekend. Extracts from these recordings will be used on the reverse of the Village Map, transcribed for the village website and magazine and the full recordings (including transcripts) submitted to the Steeple Aston Village Archive as a historical record. This will: - Engage with our older population. - Engage with a broad cross-section of the village during the recording of the vox pops. - Create a lasting record of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Village Picnic & Whit Races, 5th June An afternoon of relaxed community fun and games on our village sports field. Open to all, we will encourage all residents to come together for an afternoon of food and conversation. The picnic will feature the re-launch of our Whit Races; a mad-cap sports day for children young and old, featuring everything from egg & spoon, through tug of war, to slow cycling/walking, with Platinum Jubilee Medals for the winners (and those who take part!), the design of which will result from a competition open to our under 18s. • Get everyone outdoors, encourage social interaction and physical activity. • Enable the whole community to come together to celebrate for the first time since the pandemic. • Provide the opportunity to re-start our traditional Whit Races after a pandemic forced hiatus. • Engage our under 18s, encouraging their creativity as we seek a design for our Platinum Jubilee Medals.