Following the success of last year’s nationwide Get Creative festival which hosted over 1,400 events, we would like to encourage all local quilting groups to consider hosting their own event in this year’s festival.

The 2019 festival will run from Saturday 11th – Sunday 19th May, and events are free or have just a small fee to cover costs. The aim of the Get Creative festival is to encourage members of the public to engage with a creative activity, and with the known benefits of crafting to mental health and wellbeing, now is just the time to share what we know and love with others! Click here to read four reasons why quilting is good for mental health.

If you’d like to host an event, libraries and local authorities should be aware of the Get Creative Festival so it’s worth approaching them to enquire about free use of space, and there is an Event Planning Toolkit available to download from the Get Creative website here. Events are listed on their searchable website and are widely promoted by the BBC on TV and radio, as well as by local radio stations.

Your group’s hands-on event could be a one-off for a few hours, an activity every day of the festival – or anything in between – it’s up to you. It’s the perfect opportunity to raise the profile of the craft of quiltmaking and may even help to raise the profile of your group and to find new members. A Get Creative event does not need to be a special event or occasion. You can open your weekly group, you might decide to run a beginner friendly workshop within it.

To read about Guild member Ann Hill, Region 16 Coordinator, sharing her experience of running Get Creative events in 2017 and 2018 click here.

Ann Hill, Region 16 Coordinator.

Get Creative Festival is supported by 64 Million Artists, Arts Council England, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Arts Council of Wales, the BBC, Crafts Council, Creative People and Places, Creative Scotland, Family Arts Campaign, Voluntary Arts, and What’s Next?