Friday 30th May // 7pm doors.

Join us back home at the Minories for an evening of talks, storytelling and ritual, reflecting on Queer Folklore. Exploring the historical, the traditional and the future opportunity that lies in openly and proudly working at the intersection between folk and queerness.

With Talks from

Ben Paites (Author and Curator)

Will Wright (Wyrd Zine)

&

An Extra Special Guest

SACHA COWARD

We will create plenty of room for discussion and brainstorming about future events and opportunities to be LOUD, PROUD & FOLKLORIC!

We are utilising a wheelchair accessible room for this event. Please contact us if you do need to use the accessible entrance so that we can make sure we are ready for you at the start and end of the event.

Friday 13th June // 7pm doors.

Tickets £6

Come and join us for an evening of readings, music, ritual and other fine entertainment inspired by the fabulous Lincolnshire Folktales Project and their wonderful new publication!

https://lincolnshirefolktalesproject.com/

We are utilising a wheelchair accessible room for this event. Please contact us if you do need to use the accessible entrance so that we can make sure we are ready for you at the start and end of the event.

Friday 25th July // 7pm doors.

Tickets £12

Join us for an evening of stories, talks and song all centred around folk lore, characters and practices connected to water

Siren songs performed by Eleanor Cornell with The Gin Triplets

Artist Elinor Rowlands discusses the Biodivergent Sights & Sounds Project

Gemma and Bethan bring stories from watery places to thrill and delight

Plenty more to be announced

We are utilising a wheelchair accessible room for this event. Please contact us if you do need to use the accessible entrance so that we can make sure we are ready for you at the start and end of the event.

Friday 22 Aug // 7 PM doors.

Tickets £12

As the harvest begins to be brought in we reflect on Folk lore and practice that is closer to home. Ways of reading and predicting the weather, spirits and characters connected with the places we live and the heritage crafts and practices tied up with the homes we build for ourselves.

- Hear from some of our favourite local Heritage Craft champions about their chosen practices!

Jo (Lace Art Social)

and

Lucy (Corndolly Folklore/Straw club)

- Learn a little about Clog Morris from Colchester side AnnieMation AND have a go!

- Your hosts Bethan Briggs Miller (Eerie Essex, EAFC) and Gemma Oakley offer up Storytelling and share Folklore about our dwellings and about the weather! Expect explorations of apotropaic magic, lightning confusion, cloud theatre and house spirits!

We are utilising a wheelchair accessible room for this event. Please contact us if you do need to use the accessible entrance so that we can make sure we are ready for you at the start and end of the event.

Saturday 17 May // 11am - 3pm

Tickets £24 (concessions available for access/groups)

Join us for a day of shapeshifting wyldness, as we get creative and celebrate the weirder, wonkier ways of queer folklore!

11:00 - 13:00 Masquerade workshop

13:00 - 13:30 Re-wylding Parade

13:30 - 15:00 Picnic

As part of our month of events celebrating queer folklore, we'll be immersing ourselves in fables and fantasy, telling tall tales of trees, re-connecting with our inner beasts, and temporarily rewilding the streets and parks of Colchester.

From 11am, a magical masquerade workshop will invite you to get creative in our beautiful garden. We'll be sharing mythic tales and introducing traditions of carnival, drag and folklore costumery, to inspire your crafty transformation into a magical, mythical being of the wylds.

At 1pm we'll gather together, a gaggle of wyld beings ready to rewild the town! Our parade will lead slowly through the local streets and parks of Colchester, telling tales, inviting meditations and making monster-clamours as we go.

Finally, we'll end back at the garden for a communal picnic, sharing food, stories and experiences with friends new and old. You'll be invited to explore the garden using cards from "A Common Way: A Walking Tarot of the Wild Ways of the Woods", enacting meditative and playful acts of care for the natural world.

This is a day for everyone – children and pets, grannies and grandpas, fresh-found lovers and the broken-hearted needing a hug, walking trees and tiny forest spirits - all identities and genders, human and more-than-human are welcome. Bring your spirit of adventure, bright clothes and/or a wyld costume if you dare! Art materials will be provided, but feel free to bring any of your own if you like!

These workshops are connected to our celebration of Queer Folklore.

The Minories Garden is a wheelchair accessible space.

We have a limited number of access tickets available for individuals who would like to attend but need support. We also have a discount code for group bookings of 3 people or more. Email us at eastanglianfolklorecentre@gmail.com for details.

Please note: The picnic food is not included in workshop. We are working on a bookable food offer with the wonderful Commons Cafe but you are welcome to bring your own food along.