Handmade Parade moves creativity into Calderdale homes

Instead, the creative masterminds behind this and a host of other community spectacles will be working with local and national audiences to tell an enchanting story on film.

Every year, families and friends in the quirky town of Hebden Bridge and its immediate locale have a wonderful opportunity to come together and create a parade that showcases extraordinary creativity and ingenuity.

This year, instead of making art in their Hebden Bridge workshop, and telling a story on the streets, Handmade Parade is asking people to make art in their homes, for a story told on screen.

Funded by Arts Council England, Awards for All, and Hebden Royd Town Council, We Are Here is a collaborative film based on a specially commissioned short story by Hebden Bridge based writer Liz Flanagan, an award-winning author who writes for children and young adults.

There are many different ways to be involved in We are Here – from contributing a few minutes or a couple of days, the project will be a joy to be part of. Participants could draw or paint a picture, make and perform a simple puppet, join a drumming workshop and perform a piece of music, make a model and film it, or perform a scene to camera.

Kerith Ogden, Artistic Director said: “Like so many creative organisations across the UK, our work has been challenged by the limitations of 2020.

“Our work usually revolves around creating real life experiences, bringing communities together. We know the people of Hebden Bridge will be sad not to have the spectacle of the Parade this year, but we’re really excited to have adapted our usual format and we can’t wait to see We Are Here come to fruition.

“We’d like to think that local families who love the Parade will invite their friends and family from further afield to participate virtually – and from that point of view this is a unique opportunity to invite a much wider audience to come and play with us!”