Kidsgrove Lanterns

B arts and partners are excited to announce that Kidsgrove Lantern Parade will take place on Saturday 4 December 2021, starting from 4pm from St. Thomas' Church, The Avenue, Kidsgrove, ST7 1AG.

Lantern Making Sessions

Get creative and make your very own willow and paper lantern to carry in the parade at one of our free drop in sessions at St Thomas’ Church.

The lantern making sessions are first come first served and you are welcome to drop-in during one of the times below:

Saturday 27 November 10 am - 4 pm
Sunday 28 November 10 am - 4 pm

Kidsgrove Lantern Parade

The parade will start from from 4pm from St. Thomas' Church, The Avenue, Kidsgrove, ST7 1AG. Lanterns can be collected from 3.50pm at St. Thomas' Church.

The parade will conclude at the Town Hall in time for the light switch on.

The lanterns we create are hung on a bamboo pole, do not get let loose and do not harm wildlife.

For more information please call: 07734539210

For those that can’t make the drop in sessions there will be a limited number of pre-made lanterns to collect on the day of the parade and will be available on a first come, first served basis.

About the Partners

Newcastle Lanterns could not happen without the support of Appetite, Go Kidsgrove, and the support of many volunteers!

Why Lanterns?

B arts artists and founders have been making lanterns with communities throughout the company’s history! The lanterns we create are hung on a bamboo pole, do not get let loose and do not harm wildlife.

“For more than fifteen years we have been making lanterns. The now "traditional" willow and tissue paper pyramids, tiny wire birds, lumbering constructions on wheelbarrows, perforated tins, glowing paper bags. […]

“The thing is, we love it, we've made lanterns ourselves, taught others, encouraged them to create their own lantern events without us. Why do we still have an appetite for lanterns? Almost every other aspect of our work has changed, and we like to find new things to do. Why do we find constant inspiration in working with and making lanterns?

“Lanterns land themselves to the creation not only of processions but other kinds of theatrical events. Massed lanterns can be stunning, yet a single lantern can have startling impact. The lantern procession has become a recognised form of event throughout Britain and beyond - it can be endlessly repeated, reassuringly the same, always different.”

This except was taken from ‘Playing with Light’, a blog post from Gill Gill, one of the B arts founders. Read more about why we love working with lanterns by following the link below:

European Neighbourhood

Some years ago we embarked on a project called European Neighbourhood thanks to the European Lifelong Learning Programme. As part of this, B arts shared our skills of lantern making with our partners Artistania, AFUK Akademiet For Utæmmet Kreativitet, Les Poussières and Kongsskogen Videregande Skole.

This video shows what that sharing did. Each partner created their own lantern procession and some still continue to do so today (and they just get bigger and better - take a look at Les Poussières). We loved being a part of this project and loved seeing streets across Europe lit up with lanterns.