Memory Tablecloth and a Banquet

The Memory Tablecloths are now complete and we were all very proud to see them hanging in the Winter Gardens this weekend for the Banquet and Food Festival organised by Left Coast.

Read more about the background to this event  on their blog post here:
http://www.leftcoast.org.uk/all/communities-and-artists-cook-up-a-banquet-at-the-winter-gardens


I understand that the performance on Friday night was fantastic, and the set up for the "Dishing the Dirt" event was certainly very impressive.


So many groups have been involved in this project from different backgrounds and with varied interests and it has been well coordinated by Left Coast to bring all the elements together in such a creative and interesting way.

There was a bustling atmosphere as lots of visitors checked out the produce on the various stalls, and it was interesting to see so many different threads brought together. 
From salt making to growing your own veg there was something for everyone.

Advice was on hand for people coping with dementia from Empowerment and Dementia Friends and lots of diet and food advice.


Here is a more detailed look at our project "Stitches in Time"
http://banquetblog.leftcoast.org.uk/

Harriet Riddell  busy stitching at the event on Saturday

Our tablecloths drew lots of positive comments and provoked several conversations. Many of our visitors were from different parts of the country and it was great to be able to talk about our involvement in this project to a new audience

The original intention had been to display one cloth, but thanks to all our members and their enthusiasm we had enough work to display two cloths on the day.

Left Coast have kindly allowed us to have temporary custody of the cloths and we are now hoping to get them out and on display around Blackpool.  
Empowerment will be taking them along to their groups so their clients can see the finished work.

This has been such an interesting project to work on and we have all been impressed by the people we have met along their way and it has been a privilege to be able to share some of their stories.,

Harriet has been an inspiration to us all and those of us who have been lucky enough to have our portraits done will treasure them as a memento of the project.

More detail and images of Harriet's work here: http://institchyou.co.uk/