- It’s been a great summer in Stratford with over 1000 people attending the Community Open Days at Mary Arden’s Farm and around 100,000 people visiting Shakespeare Birthplace Trust sites over July and August.
- Community access continues into the autumn with local groups and organisations accessing all sites for activities from gardening to object handling to talks and performances.
- All events and activities can be found at: www.shakespeare.org.uk/
It’s been a great summer in Stratford with over 1000 people attending the Community Open Days at Mary Arden’s Farm and a further 100,000 visits across all Shakespeare Birthplace Trust sites – Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, Shakespeare’s New Place Gardens and Shakespeare’s Birthplace throughout July and August.
As autumn approaches community access will continue with local groups and organisations accessing all sites for activities from gardening to object handling to talks and performances.
Richard Paterson, Chief Operating Officer at Shakespeare Birthplace Trust said: “What a fantastic summer we’ve had in Stratford-upon-Avon, the sun has shone on all our visitors, sites and open days. Community access is not just for the summer holidays, we offer a vibrant year-round community programme across all our sites—from Walking and Talking groups, to heritage and conservation tours and activities, to gardening sessions. Together, these activities help ensure our local communities remain connected to the historic houses that share the story of the Shakespeare family.”
As a registered educational charity, local community partnerships have always been at the core of SBT's provision in the heart of the town. The Trust will continue to host regular visits for community groups including monthly – free - visits from the Fred Winter Centre to Shakespeare’s New Place Gardens for special talks, the sculpture trail and gardening plus access to Mary Arden’s Farm for the Men’s Walking & Talking Group.
The Trust team will join in with the monthly Making Space session at Stratford Library for local refugees over craft activities and object handling as well as free guided visits to the Birthplace for group members.
Specialist groups such as Hall’s Croft Club and the Stratford Society will maintain their access to Hall’s Croft for free conservation tours, the Trust will be participating in Heritage Open Days in September with talks and tours on the theme of ‘everyday histories’. Plus work continues with Escape Arts on collecting and cataloguing local people’s stories and family histories in a digital archive.
Local organisations including Brook Arts Hub and Warwickshire Pride continue to collaborate with the team at Shakespeare Birthplace Trust on everything from viewing the Trust’s costume collection to accessing sites such as New Place Gardens as performance venues.
Home Educators will access workshops at Mary Arden’s Farm yet again. Mary Arden’s Farm operates as a hugely popular and successful learning centre run by the Trust, a leading education charity, ensuring thousands of Primary Schoolchildren from across the UK have meaningful first encounters with Shakespeare. Life-long learners can access courses throughout the year exploring materials from The Trust’s world-renowned archive sparking learning and conversations for all ages around Shakespeare’s work, life and times.
ENDS
For further information please contact [email protected].