The big weekend arrived in a flurry of activity and all hands on deck.
Saturday was set up day and the Greater Creative sub group arrived to get the room laid out while myself (Mel) and Jodie collected all the models and larger items to bring them over. Before we knew it, exciting things begun to take shape and the most amazing cake I have ever seen arrived carried in by two people because it was so large!
The room was divided and decorated into different areas each with a different focus or purpose. As visitors arrived they immediately entered an interactive display of the street in model form. The model shops, now uniquely decorated by different families and groups in the community, lined a row of tables. Each shop was decorated using the information we had gathered about the items for sale, the decor and the people within them. Individually lit and with opening fronts visitors could peer in and engage with the feel of this 1940-60s period in time in 3D form.
Connected to each model people found a pair of headphones where they could take a seat and listen to the oral history stories gathered in their own community. Hearing real voices discuss memories of their experiences living in the village and visiting the shops while being able to see that shop in front of you is a real delight.
Visitors of all ages got the headphones on and the joy on their faces was visible.
Along side the shop buildings, written information could be found providing information on the shop and its inhabitants but also sharing the experiences of our makers.
Its been a real community venture.
The peg people made by by the Young Leaders tied the buildings together in a living row of to-ing and fro-ing with some of the peg people making a visit to the model food vans visiting the street.
Seeing young and old engage with the models in both the making and the experiencing stage has been a real pleasure.
At the end of the street row the room opened up to a drop in craft table where visitors could have a go at making their own peg person of someone they know. This space was run by our Young Leaders who volunteered their time to share this craft with others.
It was a lovely space for kids and adults alike to sit for a moment and get creative or recal happy memories.
For the in depth details and documentation of historical accuracy Tony Mellors presented a wonderful array of gathered knowledge on display boards down the length of the hall. They reached all the way from the door to a display of heritage transport information put together by Geoff Cottam.
Geoff had also arranged for a vintage bus, of the like which would have been seen in the village, to come and join the event. Parked out the front of the community centre the bus was a great visual sign to passers by that something out of the ordinary was going on and encouraged people to come on over to take a look.
Following the room round from the information boards and the peg people we found ourselves at the stage area which celebrated a display of the work by children from Newton Primary School.
Local artist Stephanie Coley has been working closely with Janice from the Greater Creative sub group to bring together an historical art project with a focussed group of children. These children spent time looking at the features and architecture around their school site and creating visual representations of what they found. They looked at the textures and colours and materials and developed their research into mosiac art works which they displayed for the community.
On the Monday after the main event the school came as a group to visit the exhibition and share their work with the other students.
Two of the children who participated standing proudly with their art work.
THE POTTERY TABLE – These pre-booked workshop sessions ran throughout the day.
Participants were supported to design, make and decorate a building of their choice. Many participants chose to make their own houses while others let their imagination run wild.
It was a joy to have MRS B join us once more, chatting to the public about their memories.
Mrs B has a special skill of putting people at ease while they share their recollections. On this occasion she was gathering memories of food and cooking traditions for our upcoming recipes project.
We are always on the look out for local people willing to share their memories. Gathering oral histories is such a core part of the Greater Creative – Home Truths project we take every opportunity to make recordings. If you have something to share do please get in touch.
After months of hard work and data gathering, Tony handed over his collection of information to Pippa Gibbs to turn into a 2D representation of Main Street. She took on the baton and spent the summer developing a huge 5 part art work which will be hung in Newton Community Centre to preserve the history of Main st into the future.
Read more about Pippas process in her own blog here.
Several times during the day Tony and Pippa shared their work with the visiting public. It wasnt easy for them with the room so busy but they rose to the challenge and gave a little talk about their process.
What a joy of a day. It was so lovely to see such a wide range of the community come out and share their heritage together.
Look out for more information on the individual shop models coming to the website soon.
