Discover DeCrypt has been awarded £3,415.55 from the Arts Council’s Let’s Create Jubilee Fund by Gloucestershire Community Foundation – ensuring that creativity plays an important role in local community celebrations for Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
The Let’s Create Jubilee Fund will ensure that thousands of people from communities all across England will have the opportunity to take part in exciting creative events – all in celebration of the Platinum Jubilee. From puppetry and story creation, through to making crowns, carnival and art trails, there will be a huge range of exciting activities for people of all ages and backgrounds to get involved in.
Discover DeCrypt will be running events throughout the Jubilee Weekend as well as a series of free community workshops in May and early June leading up to the Jubilee. We are delighted also to be partnering with Read With Me, who will be holding their Jubilee concerts in the church.
On Sunday 5 June we will be holding a special Jubilee Service at 10.00am.
From 1-5 June we’ll be holding our Small Ships Festival running alongside the Seas Shanty and Tall Ships Festival in Gloucester over the Jubilee weekend. Small Ships is a competition open to all. Participants are invited to design, build and race their own miniature ship. Prizes will be awarded for speed and design in four age categories ranging from Apprentice to Ancient Mariner. Hashim Norat, Mock Mayor of Gloucester, will award the prizes at 2.00pm on Sunday 5 June. We’ll also be holding two free ship-building workshops on 21 and 28 May from 11.00 until 13.00 to provide help with designing and building ships.
On Sunday 5 June at 3pm we’ll be holding a Jubilee Tea Dance with live music from the Tea Dance Band and expert dance tutors from Gloster Swing Dance. There’ll be Fairtrade tea with home-made cakes served on a vintage tea service. In preparation for the dance we are offering three free dance workshops on 7, 22 and 29 May run by Gloster Swing Dance. Complete beginners can learn enough to try a few dances and those with more experience can polish their skills.
Additionally, we’ll be running Frocks, Frills and Flowers, a series of free workshops in May. ‘Frocks’ will provide the opportunity to fashion a unique upcycled outfit for the Jubilee using vintage and recycled materials and the creative talents of multidisciplinary artist Jussara Nazare. ‘Frills’ will be led by local expert tailor Nader of Pamir Alterations; participants will create their own fabric bunting, learning some basic sewing skills and how to complete simple tasks with a sewing machine. ‘Flowers’ will be a chance to create floral displays for the Jubilee weekend and learn some tips and tricks from an experienced member of Gloucester Flower Arrangement Society.
Made possible thanks to National Lottery players and administered by UK Community Foundations on behalf of the Arts Council, the Let’s Create Jubilee Fund will support a huge range of projects throughout England. 44 community foundations have been awarding grants across the country.
Jess Gordon, Community, Arts and Events Manager at Discover DeCrypt said “We are so excited to be running these community events. It’s a chance for people to get together after the isolation of the pandemic and have some fun. It’s great to be collaborating with some of the very talented members of our community who will be sharing their skills and inspiring us all to get creative. We really hope it will bring people together in a very positive way. There’s a little bit of something for everyone: from model boats to bunting, flowers, frocks, music and dance and lots of cake!”
Darren Henley, Chief Executive at Arts Council England said “The Let’s Create Jubilee Fund is a wonderful example of our ambition to give everyone the opportunity to participate in and experience the arts, culture and creativity – made possible thanks to National Lottery players. This June, we’ll see communities across England coming together to celebrate a historic milestone for this country. I’m excited to see these projects brought to life in villages, towns and cities across the country as our wonderfully creative communities celebrate The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.”
Rosemary Macdonald, CEO, UK Community Foundations, said: “For community foundations, people and places are the priority and the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee is a unique opportunity for people to get together and celebrate in their communities. We are proud to have connected Arts Council England with local organisations whose imaginative and exciting projects and collaborations with professional artists will bring communities together to enjoy marking this milestone moment in our history.”
HM The Queen Elizabeth II is the first monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, having overtaken Queen Victoria as the longest reigning monarch in 2015. Her reign has been marked by a commitment to public service, reflected by her extensive programme of engagements at home and abroad, and support for over 600 cultural organisations, charities, military associations, professional bodies and public service organisations.
