Straw Craft Workshop
Saturday 14th February
11am-1pm, Free
Delivered by Lucy Hook-Child @corndollyfolklore
Book a Free Place

Join us as we learn how to make a classic Countryman's Favour to give to our sweethearts, or keep close to our own hearts! We will provide an opportunity to have a go at a classic working-class heritage craft and reflect on the folklore behind these customs and the state of our seasonal relationships with the land, past and present. 

"In days gone by it was the custom for a country lad to take an evening walk with his lass in the fields at harvest time. He would weave for her a buttonhole of plaited straw, and if they were courting, she would wear it over her heart as a token of her love. At the annual hiring fairs at Martinmas, men and women might have worn a simple plait decorated with a wisp of sheep's wool or horse hair, as a badge of their trade, ie shepherd, waggoner, etc."  - www.strawcraftsmen.co.uk

15 Spaces available (All Welcome. working class and Pavee/Irish traveller/Romani participants, especially encouraged)

This workshop is supported by the Essex Cultural Diversity Project. 

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Seasonal Storytelling Zine Workshop
Wednesday 21^st January,
3pm-5pm, Free

Join Gemma (East Anglian Folklore Centre) for this free, drop-in Zine Making workshop. With gentle guidance and some carefully curated prompts from local folklore and rural/hedgerow knowledge we will take the opportunity to gather together our own stories and recollections. Using found and recycled materials we'll create our own beautiful zines to celebrate the stories we want to tell and the seasonal knowledge we want to share! 

Suitable for all ages. All welcome.  This workshop is supported by the Essex Cultural Diversity Project.