❤️ Well Done Farsley
All the Schools, Artists, Musicians, Volunteers, Students, Supporters, Funders & Participants;
we can be super proud of what we’ve created together!
More than 500 members of the community came together over 25 workshops to create
Farsley’s first ever Lantern Parade creating 100 brilliantly creative lanterns and headdresses.
The success of our first ever Lantern Festival & Parade at Farsley Lights Switch On
is just another reminder of how brilliant and creative this community is!
May we continue to grow, support & celebrate this lovely little corner of Leeds!
Follow our journey on Instagram
Scroll on to find out more 👇
About the project
At the beginning of 2024, fresh off the back of a Christmas full of community projects we decided that, if we want to go bigger and better this year, we may need some help!
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Grumpy’s has been awarded a grant from Leeds City Council’s Cultures Programme to plan and deliver a wonderful 'urban wildlife' themed Lantern Festival in Farsley.
The Festival, which starts in July, operates under Grumpy's 'Farsley Community Project' initiative and will include a series of events, workshops and community engagement; culminating at the end of the year with two spectacular parades.
The first of which will take place on 27th November as part of Farsley's Christmas Lights Switch On.
This annual event attracts over 8000 visitors to Farsley each year and 2024's attendees can expect to see the likes of giant swans, hedgehogs and insects; all made out of willow and paper and magically lit from within as part of Farsley's first ever large-scale Lantern Parade.A series of both adult focused and child-friendly Willow Workshops to produce the lanterns, sculptures and props for the Festival have been planned throughout the year between July and November.
Children who attend the upcoming workshops held in Scrap at Sunny Bank Mills on the 24th and 26th July will have the unique experience decorating their own fox and owl shaped light-up headdresses that can be worn during the parade. Recommended for children aged 6 and above, the ticketed workshops cost £5 per child. Accompanying adults and under 2s can attend for free.
Grumpy's community project is also working closely with West SILC's post 16 department 'Powerhouse' who are a local SEN college based in Farsley. Both Grumpy’s & Scrap have been involved in Powerhouse's ‘Learn to Earn’ curriculum and have been so inspired by the college and its students that they were keen to put them at the centre of the festival's activities.
So far the students have created the illustrations for the events’ branding and have also produced a number of t-shirt designs around the theme of Urban Wildlife which are available to order on Grumpy's website. All profits raised from the designs will go towards the costs of this year's Lantern Festival.
Grumpy's hopes that Powerhouse's involvement in the project will prove to have a valuable impact on the students’ sense of community whilst encouraging more local businesses and organisations to offer the college valuable work-based learning experiences and resources.
Click here to sign up to a Lantern Festival workshop or for more information about how you or your local school, business or community group can get involved too then please email hello@grumpsyleeds.co.uk or follow our Facebook and Instagram pages.
About Powerhouse
Grumpy’s & SCRAP have been working with The Powerhouse as part of their ‘Learn to Earn’ curriculum, and we have been so inspired by both the college and its students!
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The Powerhouse is the Post 16 department of West SILC; a Specialist Inclusive Learning College in Farsley that operates under the organisation of Leeds City Council.
At Powerhouse, each students' learning journey is based around two main areas: 'Learning to Live' and 'Learning to Earn'.
Students at Powerhouse are encouraged to access the community regularly to ensure they develop transferrable skills needed in the wider world.
The college firmly believes that meaningful involvement in more locally led initiatives will have a valuable impact on the students’ sense of community, confidence and self worth.
We hope that working with West SILC Powerhouse on the Lantern Festival will raise their profile locally and help towards encouraging more businesses and organisations to offer their students valuable work-based learning experiences and resources for the college.
So far the students have created the illustrations for the events’ branding and will also be working on creating eco-products, large scale lanterns and props for the main parade in November.
Click here to find out more about Powerhouse on their website
How to get involved
We would love the project to be a celebration of culture and inclusivity!
Find out how you can participate as an individual, business or organisation!
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✨ As a individual / maker:
Sign up to volunteer at our Willow Workshops in July & September where we’ll be teaching small groups of adults to make lantern sculptures that will feature in the Lantern Parade at Farsley’s Lights Switch On!
Perhaps you already have experience making willow structures and you’d like to come and help us run or facilitate a workshop? Get in touch!
Dates are listed on our ‘What’s On’ section below and workshops will include accessible quieter sessions, plus after work ‘make it’ sessions too.
Plus, look out for sustainable products you can purchase to help fund the project whilst raising money for charity.
📣 Spread the word! Tell all of your friends and follow us on Facebook & Instagram for the latest updates!
✨ As a family
Join us at our Family Art Workshops and come design a headdress for the parade in November! Dates are listed in our ‘What’s On’ section below.
Plus, help us get the schools involved! Throughout the year we will be sharing ways in which you can create props for the Parade at home with the kids. We’d also love for the local schools to encourage dress up, props and lanterns to be brought along to the parade.
On the PTA of your school? Get in touch! We’d love to discuss how we can work together!
✨ As a business or organisation
We’d love to hear from local businesses to find out how they’d like to get involved!
It would be brilliant if this year’s Lights’ Switch On Parade, where we’ll be showcasing the lanterns, could involve more businesses & community groups!
We also hope to encourage an ‘Urban Wildlife’ theme across all Town Street businesses at Christmas which will include sustainable decorations and displays to reflect the Festival.
We’d also love to light up Farsley this autumn / winter with Festoon Lights which will be decorated with recycled bottle lanterns made by local children. Order yours by clicking here
Lantern Sculptures by Morwenna Catt
Farsley Community Project was started in 2020 by Grumpy’s Bar + Wood Fired Pizza.
Since then it has brought people together during lockdown, donated diverse books to Farsley’s schools and Nurseries, worked on art projects within the community and organised an annual fundraising event for our local food bank.
We’re proud to work with SCRAP Creative Reuse Project, West SILC Powerhouse & Leeds City Council’s Cultural Programme on this years’ Farsley Lantern Festival project.
Image credits: Grumpy’s Leeds Ltd / Artist Morwenna Catt
All illustrations by the students at West SILC Powerhouse
