This year, we brought an arts and cultural element to the Blakeney Duck Race with a series of free workshops and events throughout the day. ‘Everyone Sing’ with Kirsty Abraham kick started the day off at All Saints Church with a singing workshop alongside Emma O’Brennan from Wilful Ink who offered a free watercolour demonstration.
After which, a hundred participants joined the colourful, noisy and cheerful parade from the church towards the Recreation Field where the Duck Race Festival took place. ForestThump Samba band led the procession of Morris Dancers, Community Choir, Drybrook Male Voice Choir, local children, families, a 7 metre long Water Serpent puppet with Djabot African drumming band bringing up the rear.
Children and families waved batik flags and banners which were made in promotional batik workshops with textile artist Joanne Callaghan prior to the event whilst others held up decorated poetry ducks on sticks which had been made with support of artistJohn Slater at the Dean Heritage Museum. The parade arrived at the Rec at 1.00pm to open the Festival and paraded around the field to create a stir.
Canopy pitched 8 Arts stalls in the top corner of the Rec creating a real festival atmosphere. Wild Oats Morris danced to their musicians in their colourful dress with bells and sticks adding a traditional English element. Darren Hoskins drew a large audience with his hilarious story telling using a ‘Cranky’. Drybrook Male Voice Choir sang in emotionallymoving harmonies despite the heavy rain shower. Djabot, in their brightly patterned African attire, played rhythmically and loudly with their wide range of drums and instruments.
Canopy sponsored drop-inworkshops were offered by farOpen artists following a duck theme with watercolours with Emma O’Brennan, Clay workshop with Dorota Rapacz and Painting with Chris Waygood. In addition, artist John Slater provided a workshop making 3D paper ducks, Artspace offered an aerial rig for people to explore the trapeze and theCommunity Shed volunteers prepared many approaches to using wood to create ducks. Canopy volunteer, Krysa Hazelwood, led an engaging Creative Walk for children and families in the woods running alongside the field using nature as their inspiration to create lots of lovely marks and textures.
Visitors who joined the activities and performances were amazed by the wide range of opportunities to experience and truly valued that the experiences were all for free.
Like most festivals,this was several years in the planning process and many months with community engagement in the lead up to the festival day. Blakeney artsFEST is the second festival brought to the Forest of Dean this year by Canopy following the recent appointment of Katie Sanderson as event manager following a successful bid for Arts Council Funding.
Many more community arts projects will be rolled out incoming months with further arts festivals pencilled in for other locations including Cinderford in April 2025! Stay tuned for updates!
Canopy Creative Network 