Festival of Lights at Caldmore Community Garden
Caldmore Community Garden was illuminated and transformed for this year’s Festival of Lights on 4th and 5th November. The Festival of Lights is an annual celebration that marks the diverse traditions of Diwali, Bonfire Night and All Hallow’s Eve, bringing the local community together to enjoy arts and activities for people of all ages.
On Sunday 5th November, excited people of all ages gathered for the lantern procession - the highlight of the festival - to light up the streets of Caldmore. The procession was led by Helter Skelter’s LED drummers and featured Autin Dance Theatre’s wonderful sea-giant puppet Eko, who was dressed in lights for the occasion. Eko wowed the crowds, with one audience member commenting “The addition of Eko the giant puppet on the parade was stunning and it was great to see the way it interacted with the crowd.”
Having attended the festival and participated in the procession, audience member Roksana said “We have enjoyed it so much, it was absolutely amazing, especially the procession itself. People were coming out of the houses and shops and everybody had smiles on their faces. I haven't been to a better event for a long time. It was absolutely amazing seeing the community together.”
Following the procession, audiences were treated to exciting performances by Helter Skelter’s LED drummers and by Autin Dance Theatre, all brought to the festival by Black Country Touring. Audience member Ana Georgiana found Autin Dance Theatre’s performance Out of the Deep Blue to be a “lovely show”, saying “me and my family loved it”. Another audience member said “the biggest highlight of this 2 day event was Autin Dance Theatre, their performance was mega and hopefully not the last”.
Black Country Touring are pleased to have supported the Festival of Lights and would like to congratulate the team at Caldmore Community Garden and everyone involved in putting on such a wonderful event for the local community.
The Festival of Lights was delivered by Caldmore Village Festival Group and supported by the National Lottery Community Fund, Children in Need, WHG and Black Country Touring.
Photographs © Dave Cope Photography.
