Wow, what a wonderful festival we had last Saturday.
Friends of Derby Arboretum, Spiral Arts, Rotary Club of Derby and
Derby City Council Parks hosted a magical Lantern Festival on the historic
Derby Arboretum as part of its community celebrations.
They were
celebrating the park in its anniversary year of being open to the public for
175 years. They
invited the local community and people of Derby to come along and they had
a great turnout of over 150 people joining the Lantern event.
The event started
at 5pm with local families and friends gathering at the Orangery in the
Arboretum. Lanterns made from willow and tissue paper, were distributed to
everyone and they stepped out into the night air to watch the first dance from
the Morris Team ‘Chip off the Old’.
The procession
began towards the Boar statue accompanied by magical music from violinist,
Helen Hitchcock together with ‘Chip off the Old’ Musicians. The procession trail
wound its way down the paths towards the fountain which was covered by twinkling
tealight candles. The Morris team danced their way around the park, towards the
Community Garden and then led us back to the Orangery. The crowd were pleased
to warm up with hot soup and rolls and more magical music and dancing. The
lanterns made a beautiful display outside of the Orangery building, they will
remain on display in the Orangery until Friday 11th November.
‘Such a lovely event, the lanterns looked beautiful, we really enjoyed taking part’ Lesley Marshall ‘Chip off the Old’ Morris dancer.
‘We were very pleased with the success
of the event, the whole community got involved, and it was lovely to see all
ages joining in. It was a great way to celebrate 5th November. I
hope this event becomes an annual celebration bringing the community together.
The Friends of Derby Arboretum are working hard to make the park a welcoming,
inviting place to enjoy and meet.’ Jenny
Anthony, Creative Director Spiral Arts
