Warrington Communities Encouraged To Take Part In National Creative Online Festival

Residents, community groups and arts practitioners across the borough are being urged to take part in a national initiative to inspire creativity during lockdown.

Get Creative is a national, annual initiative that strives to shine a light on all the fantastic cultural activities that take place in communities across the UK.

Each year, this week-long festival celebrates the creative work that takes place on a local level and encourages people to try their hand at something new.

However, due to ongoing restrictions regarding the coronavirus outbreak, this year's festival will be a little different as arts charity Culture Warrington and Warrington Borough Council have teamed up to deliver the programme online between Friday 8 May and Sunday 17 May.

Emma Hutchinson, Managing Director of Culture Warrington, said: "This year, the Get Creative festival will take on a new guise as all classes and workshops will now be moved online to Culture Warrington's social media platforms.

"We're delighted to be hosting this year's festival and look forward to connecting to people online and celebrating the rich cultural offer we have here in Warrington.

"This is a great opportunity for artists and community groups to showcase their work and provide much needed cultural services during this challenging time."

The festival will present a range of different classes and workshops people can engage with by tuning into Culture Warrington's social media channels, searching the hashtag #GetCreativeatHome, or checking out the Get Creative website getcreativeuk.com/

From visual artists and musicians, to dancers, knitters, storytellers and bakers, this eclectic festival has something for everyone and is the perfect way to try something a little different from the comfort and safety of your own home.

Now the search is on to find people and community groups across the borough to offer up their skills and lead these online classes and workshops.

Warrington Borough Council's Cabinet Member responsible for health, wellbeing and culture, Cllr Maureen McLaughlin, said: "We're calling on Warrington creatives and members of the public alike to get involved in this national initiative and share their amazing talents with the online community.

"It's vital during the lockdown that we take extra steps to look after our health and wellbeing - looking after our minds and bodies is essential for all of us, and being creative is one way to do that.

"It is more important than ever in these challenging times that we promote opportunities for people to engage in creative activities in their own homes."

Artists and community groups can register their interest by emailing details of their proposed activity to getcreative@warrington.gov.uk.

The Get Creative festival will be running on Culture Warrington's social media pages between Friday 8 May and Sunday 17 May.

Simply follow @culturewarrington on Facebook or @Culture_WA to join in the fun!