B arts and partners are excited to announce the return of Newcastle Lantern Parade to Newcastle-under-Lyme Town centre on Saturday 11 December at 4pm to coincide with Newcastle BID’s ‘Feast’ event.
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 Appetite’s Newcastle Common Astley Walk space.
The lantern making sessions are first come first served and you are welcome to drop-in during one of the times below:
Saturday 20 November 10am-4.30pm
Sunday 21 November 10am-5.30pm (Newcastle Light switch on 5-6pm)
Saturday 27 November 10am-4.30pm
Saturday 4 December 10am-4.30pm
Monday 6 December 3pm-7.30pm
Tuesday 7 December 3pm-7.30pm
Wednesday 8 December 3pm-7.30pm
Thursday 9 December 3pm-7.30pm
Photography: Natalie Willatt, taken at Lanterns in the Valley, 2019.
Newcastle Lantern Parade
The parade will start from Newcastle Common space in Astley Walk at 4pm on Saturday 11 December, lanterns can be collected from 3.15pm at Newcastle Common.
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.
Photo from Newcastle Lantern Parade, 2013.
About the Partners
Newcastle Lanterns could not happen without the support of Appetite, Newcastle Common, Newcastle-under-Lyme BID, The Barracks Trust, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council & The Welcome Back fund.
Newcastle Common is an Appetite project focused on the changing Newcastle-under-Lyme town centre and transforming empty shops into places of arts, culture and community. To find out more www.appetite.org.uk.
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. Can you spot the scenes from Newcastle Under Lyme in this video?