Barnaby 2020 Homemade Parade

The Barnaby Parade is one of the highlights of the festival bringing people together in a celebration of creativity and community.

Sadly, owing to the Covid 19 pandemic, Barnaby Festival cannot hold the parade in the normal way this year – but the festival is working to present a #homemadeparade.

Saturday 20th June 2020, 12 noon in your home/garden – join the virtual watch party from 11.30am at barnabyfestival.org.uk

All activities will take place in people’s homes and everyone taking part to observe the government guidelines on safety.

This year parade makers and a collection of local artists are asking residents to create a parade entry in their home and gardens. The idea is for residents to decorate their windows, porches, gardens, balconies, or any space that they have in their homes to celebrate Barnaby Festival’s theme of Vision.

Your home will become your float or parade entry!

Neil Puttick, who will introduce the Homemade Parade in an online Watch Party at 12noon on Saturday June 20, said: “These are extraordinary times, but we can still celebrate our town’s imagination and raise our spirits by making the parts of the parade at home.

“The homemade parade is inspired by seeing rainbows in windows across the town and the tremendous turn out of people clapping for the NHS every week. We want people to take that energy and channel it on Saturday 20th June, even if just for 10 minutes.”

Over the next two weeks there will be fun live online workshops to inspire people: making flags, giant spectacles and eye-catching dance routines open to people of all ages to join in.

The workshops will encourage creativity, taking skills that might have been learnt in lockdown or using things that you would already have in your home to make decorations.

Schools and local groups are also being offered packs of materials – such as giant banners and posters – to create a parade atmosphere.

Leading makers Caitlin Line, Ailsa Holland, Jean Westbrook and Becca Smith are showing people ways to do it.

Becca Smith added: “There’s so many ways you can go with the theme of vision, and people have so many great ideas. We love the idea of the whole town working together to make an artwork.”

The decorations and props can then be used to adorn your windows and gardens to help create a parade atmosphere on Saturday June 20.

Keep up to date on our website https://barnabyfestival.org.uk/homemade-parade/

If you would care to send in your images, to editor@ilovemacc.com, we’ll feature them.