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Waterside Neighbourhood Partnership is delighted to announce the official launch of Waterside Together, a shared space festival and events project, which aims to transform spaces that are perceived as belonging to the 'other community' into shared spaces that are open, welcoming, and safe for all members of the Waterside community. This is a project supported by PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), funded under the theme of Community Regeneration and Transformation, and it is funded through Derry City and Strabane District Council's PEACEPLUS Local Co-Designed Action Plan.
Programmes will be delivered in parks, greenways and community spaces targeting a range of participants including families, children and young people, older people, and members of the BAME community. Part of the programme will be a shared space festival that promotes the communal usage of the green infrastructure in the Waterside and which encourages the movement of people to areas that they would not usually use for recreational purposes.
The launch event will take place from 10am-1pm on Saturday 25 January 2025, at the Irish Street Community Centre on Bann Drive, BT47 2HJ, with a range of events to suit all ages. In Your Space Circus will be performing their Seedlings Circus, for ages 0-5 years. This is a drop-in event, no booking necessary, and it is completely free!
We will have an arts and crafts station where artist facilitator Sinéad Crumlish will work with participants to weave a nature loom using natural materials such as reeds and branches and children of all ages are invited to come along and make styrofoam prints using natural materials. All participants will be offered a free hot drink and a snack. Adults are invited to take their hot drink, grab a warm blanket provided, and take a seat with Claire Thompson of Keeper of the Ways, who will be doing a talk and walk titled Roots and Remedies: Foraging, Ancestral foods and the healing wisdom of nature, where attendees will explore the ancient shared practice of foraging, drawing on ancestral knowledge, and looking at the connection between humans and our natural surroundings, learning what plants are around us to support mental and physical well being.
