Posts Tagged ‘Holt’
“…I do! I do! I do!”
10th Birthday for the Fairy Fair.
The Wand Team.
Fun, magic and nature makes a welcome return to Holt Hall this spring as the Fairyland Trust’s renowned Fairy Fair makes a return to celebrate their 10th Birthday!
The Norfolk based charity with a national reputation for introducing families to flowers, wildlife and trees through magical creations will run the fair amidst the stunning 35 hectares of gardens, ancient woods and lakes over the late May bank holiday.
Fairy Queen visits banquet.
This year’s birthday celebration features more bands, including stilt walking musicians, the Ugly Bug Band, more walkabout acts, more food, including a Norfolk food market, featuring local food producers. The event will also feature the trusts renowned workshops including: Magic Wands, Fairy Crowns, Fairy Gardens, Wildflower Fairies, Wizard Shields, Magic Potions, Fairy Books and Witches Pets and the welcome return of Magic Lanterns!
Fairy workshops at The Fair Fair.
Abbie Panks, from The Fairyland Trust said “It just seems right to honour our decade of introducing the magic of nature to children by celebrating our birthday with a big Fairy Fair, there simply is no better way. We’ve added some great new activities and hope to have a birthday banquet too; we’re still firming up final details for the event but it’s certinaly looking like being our best yet”
The fair will also see the launch of two brand new drop in workshops “Flutterbies” and “Hungry Caterpillars”.
The event is a great day out for the entire family and features a whole host of other activities including Pixie Post office, storytelling, trails to the Fairy Queen, beer tent for the grownups, Pirate Fete, Norfolk food market and the now infamous Cooking with Trolls which see’s Masterchef Dr Tim Kinnaird step up and try his hand at troll wrangling!
Holt Hall is a large North Norfolk house, set in 35 hectares of gardens, ancient woods and lakes – a truly magical setting! The site itself has some incredible tree’s, including a root-stock of an old coppiced chestnut tree whose trunks have been dated to the time of King Cnut, dating it at over 1,000 years old.
Fairies at pond.
The Fairyland Trust are a Norfolk-based, National conservation charity who enable children and families to learn about nature. The Trust designs and creates multi-sensory experiences for children and adults which use ‘magic’ and the imagination to engage them with wildlife, ecology and landscape through having fun at our Fairy Fairs and in their travelling Workshops.
These events enable young people to join in making things such as ‘fairy gardens’, magic wands, lanterns and crowns, which contain embedded learning British wildlife, its ecology and folklore, plant-animal interactions and the story of our landscape. To help us put on the fairs and run the workshops we have a crew of CRB1-accredited Workshop Leaders trained in theatrical performance, logistics, health and safety, storytelling techniques and natural history. Each of our workshops has its own (copyright) story, creation format, materials, props and magical shelters and its own specific ecological learning outcomes. It is a unique combination of drama, science, arts and crafts and spectacle.
Tickets are available from 21st March via www.fairylandtrust.org. It is strongly recommended they are booked in advance. Children £7.50, Adults £10 or Family Ticket (2 adults and 2 children) £30 Under 3s free.
Fairy Fair
Holt Hall, Holt, Norfolk, NR25 7DU
Sun 29th/Mon 30st May 2011
10am – 5pm.
All of the activities take place either within one of the Trust’s beautiful medieval tents or outside in the woods. Children are encouraged to dress up if they like. Parents or carers need to be present.
Workshop prices vary from £2/£5.
Sorry, no dogs to be brought on site whatsoever, with the exception of guide dogs.
As well as discovering new artists, sometimes it is just as satisfying to see great work by established favourites. To warm your hearts this winter, The Hatfield Hines Gallery in Holt is staging a show of new work by some of their most popular artists.
Series on show include Irish cottages and crofts by the Scottish colourist Edwin Scotterz: these are recent works showing that at the age of 90 his refreshing, bold work shows no signs of abating.
Painting by Edwin Scotterz.
Also to tempt collectors is an unusual series of works on paper by the Lavenham-born Roy Turner Durrant 1925 – 1998, who, having studied at Camberwell during this period under John Minton is now an established collectable name in the London galleries and auction houses.
by Roy Turner Durrant.
December/January 2011 – “New Work by Old Favourites” – showcasing new work by some of the gallery’s most popular artists including Roy Turner Durrant works on paper from the 1950s, Edwin Scotterz crofts and cottages and Henry Collins harbour scenes.
Open Tue-Sat 11am-5pm (Thurs 11am-2pm). Closed Monday & Sunday.
by Roy Turner Durrant.
Hatfield Hines Gallery.
3 Fish Hill, Holt, Norfolk, NR25 6BD.
Tel: 01263 713000.
by Edwin Scotterz.
On Saturday we had the absolute pleasure of experiencing an event organised by The Fairyland Trust, a Norfolk-based charity that aims to inspire youngsters to appreciate the magic of nature through the use of myths, folklore and legends.
Little Man beside sign for The Real Halloween.
‘The Real Halloween’ was basically an outdoor event held at Holt Hall Field Studies Centre in Holt. Fairyland Trust representative Abbie Panks explained to me that the aim was to relate Halloween back to its true origins as a celebration of the change of season, rather than the blood, gore and trick or treating practice that is the modern image of Halloween.
Having never been to Holt Hall before, I was immediately struck by how beautiful the location was – a stunning house set in some 35 hectares of ancient woodland and gardens. With autumn colour in full bloom, the first impression as one approached through the woodland track from the car park area was breathtaking.
Live Music & Stalls at The Real Halloween.
‘Campfires’, wooden toadstool seating, live music, a Halloween-themed cafe and various stalls framed the scene, while oodles of little witches (as well as some big ones), cats, devils, wizards, pirates and vampires regailed in the late October sun. Truly wonderful.
The Real Halloween.
The day, designed for families and children (although, to be honest, Other Half and I agreed, we’d probably have had a superb time had we turned up on our own – live music and spiced cider, outside on arguably one of the sunniest days of the year? Can’t be bad), began at noon and there was plenty to amuse, interest and delight.
Mulled Apple Juice (& Spiced Cider) Stall.
Throughout the day we carved a pumpkin, followed the ‘Rainbow Trail’ of coloured ribbons through the woods (piqued every now and then by a Halloween-themed ‘factoid’ about the particular tree or plant), sampled the mulled apple juice (lovely) and some spooky cupcakes. I also ended up (albeit briefly) serving pies on Bray’s infamous Pork Pie stall. For me I think that was the most terrifying aspect of the whole Halloween day.
Bray's Pork Pie Stall.
We’d pre-booked a ‘Witches Pet’ workshop for Little Man, which took place in a tent and combined storytelling, craft and information to introduce the group of girls and boys to the world of bats. The workshop was carefully planned and enthusiastically delivered, just managing to hold Little Man’s interest for the duration (at two-and-a-half he was perhaps just on the young side). However, the eventual production of a fluffy, googly-eyed bat on a piece of elastic that ‘flew’ was more than reward for Little Man’s patience. Afterwards he ran around with it, delighted, terrifying all who dared cross his path.
Making Witches Pets.
One Happy Lil Wizard (With Flying Bat).
Other activities on offer included a ‘Witches Kitchen’, traditional apple bobbing, storytelling under a giant old oak and lantern making. We left before the lantern procession at dusk (we had wanted to join in, but sometimes its best not to outstay your welcome with a toddler), but expect this was enchanting and a truly magical experience for slightly older children.
Carving Pumpkins.
Instead, having promised that our Little Man would see the moon when it got dark, we drove along the coast to Cromer and ate fish & chips while the sun went down. Typically, it turned out to be an utterly clear, but also utterly moon-less night. No matter, the lights on the pier reflecting into the black North Sea were more than satisfactory.
View From Cromer Pier As Night Falls.
In all, we had a wonderful family day out – a whole afternoon out in the fresh air, exploring and enjoying the natural world of Norfolk at its best. The Fairyland Trust holds several such events throughout the year, and from what I’ve seen they’re getting more and more popular. Not surprising really… ours really was magical.
Never too young for magic...
Next year’s Fairy Fair will be 29th-30th May 2011, Holt Hall, Norfolk.
Few More Pics From The Day…
Witch Carving Pumpkins (you don't see that every day)
Pumpkins! International Symbol Of Halloween.
Spooky Nature Facts Around The 'Rainbow Trail'.
The Fairyland Trust's 'Real Halloween' at Holt Hall.
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