Street theatre is coming to the centre of Cleator Moor this weekend to start a six-week programme of activity across the community.
The fun starts in Cleator Moor at noon on Saturday.
Cumbria’s Eden Arts – organisers of the hugely successful Winter Droving in Penrith that sees 25,000 people in the town every year, as well as being the masterminds behind the recent appearance of the whale in Whitehaven Harbour that saw publicity reach around the world, were asked to programme a weekend of activity in Cleator Moor town centre.
Bands, street acts and workshops will take place throughout Saturday and Sunday afternoon, finishing at 5.30pm. All performances and activities are free for the community to enjoy.
Hit Manchester hipsters Mr Wilson’s Second Liners who play rave classics on brass will play two sets on Saturday, with Punjabi Roots bringing their Bhangra style on Sunday. More music on the Melodrome Stage will feature Sushi and the Tuneless Choir.
Alongside the music will be cool circus and street entertainment from London’s Other Half Productions – a regular at the Winter Droving, the fantastic African Acrobatic Circus and performances from Matrix Circus who will also be doing workshops.
It’s all part of a range of entertainment and activity planned for Cleator Moor until the end of September.
The activities have been arranged after iSH met with community groups in Cleator Moor who said they would like to see more events taking place in the town.
At a time when the cost of living crisis is putting a severe squeeze on people’s household incomes, many said they found it expensive to have to travel for entertainment.
iSH, which aims to create 700 jobs in West Cumbria and is working in collaboration with industry, SMEs, schools, academia, charities, and communities to ensure opportunities created in Cleator Moor and beyond are open to everyone, made a commitment to try to do something to help and to bring activities to Cleator Moor residents.
The organisation has worked at pace to make sure that it can start that process this year, beginning with this weekend’s street threatre.
iSh plans a further three-day festival of activity in Cleator Moor from September 23-25. It will also work with primary schools and The Phoenix Youth Project in September to bring art workshops to the community, culminating in street art projects across the town.
Steve Wilkinson, iSH project manager, said: “iSH is a community-led organisation which is looking to positively transform West Cumbria communities through employment, training and skills opportunities, starting with the development of a campus at Leconfield at Cleator Moor.
“At our monthly community engagement meetings, a range of organisations in Cleator Moor told us they would like to see more happening in the town itself in the summer months, especially some entertainment for children and families.
“We are delighted that by working with partners, who are experts in bringing vibrant, engaging events to communities, that we have been able to act quickly to start those activities this summer.
“There promises to be something for everyone over the next six weeks, and we hope that people in Cleator Moor will come out and support the events so that we can plan more activities in the future.”
Steve also recently completed a trek up Kilimanjaro to raise money for Cleator Moor charities Home To Work and The Phoenix Youth Project as well as the RNLI.
