Last week saw the return of ACRE’s Village Halls Week, a one-of-a-kind annual celebration of halls and the contribution they make to rural communities. Here in Bedfordshire, there was lots of activity during the week to celebrate!
The programme for Village Halls Week was as follows:
- Monday: Do something different #DoDifferent
- Tuesday: Something for everyone #ForEveryone
- Wednesday: Celebrating and supporting the arts #RuralTouring
- Thursday: Beacons of hope for a more sustainable future #NetZero
- Friday: Financial resilience #FinancialResilience
- Saturday and Sunday: Put on your own event!
Each day, ACRE shared a blog post written by a guest blogger, focusing on the different topics. Visit the ACRE website to read them.
Pledges
Making pledges about what village halls will do differently to innovate for the future was an important part of Village Halls Week. Here at BRCC we support local village halls, and some of these made their own pledges. We also made our own pledge to show our continued support.
“We are pledging to provide continued support to local Bedfordshire halls, offering help and advice on how village halls can best support their own local communities this Village Halls Week.
Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity
“We pledge to provide support with essential computer skills necessary for day to day life.”
Dunstable Community Halls
“We pledge to continue providing access to a safe and flexible space for all our local communities in 2022 and beyond!”
Caddington & Slip End Community Trust
“We pledge to fix up Wi-Fi, modernise kitchen and improve storage to free up committee room.”
Old Warden Village Hall
To start working on this pledge, the Old Warden village hall committee have been making appointments with builders, as well as getting in touch with commercial kitchen renovators. The committee plan to continue improving their hall with a resealed floor, new chairs and redesigned rear entrance, when funds permit.
Lunch Unplugged – Lyons Community Centre
On Monday, there was a lunch unplugged walk in Caddington, a 20 minute walk around the Caddington Woods development. It was a great opportunity to spend the lunch break in fresh air, and meet local residents.
These walks will be continuing on Mondays and Thursdays after Village Halls Week, so come and join in if you’re in need of a screen break and you live locally. The walks start from the community centre, and tea and coffee will be served there afterwards. Visit the Lyons Community Centre Facebook page for more information.
Drop in sessions – Lyons Community Centre
Alongside the lunch unplugged walks, Lyons Community Centre has also launched drop in sessions so you can view the facilities available at our centre. These sessions will be running every Monday and Thursday 1.30pm – 3.30pm. Visit the Lyons Community Centre Facebook page for more information.
Village Hall Open Day – Old Warden
On Saturday, Old Warden Village Hall hosted an open day to find out people’s thoughts on the future of the village hall. Simon Patterson, Village Hall and Community Buildings Advisor for Bedfordshire, attended the open day and met with committee member Mike Masters (pictured with the Old Warden pledge).
Mike and other trustees were very pleased with the local response during the open day. They had several groups interested in hiring the hall on a regular basis, which is a positive sign for the future. Attendees were consulted on future refurbishment plans for the hall to give them an opportunity to share their queries and comments.
Pilot Project Launch: Exhibition in Priory House on Augustinian Dunstable – Dunstable Cultural Consortium
Last Wednesday saw the launch of the The Augustinian Dunstable Exhibition at Priory House. The ‘Augustinian Dunstable’ attempts to show the importance of the town at one of the busiest crossroads in England, and the management and entrepreneurial skills of the Augustinian canons.
Art Trail Presentation Ceremony – Dunstable Cultural Consortium
After a successful Art Trail with over 900 votes from the public, there was a presentation ceremony last week. The winning entries are being exhibited in The Workhouse until 19th February, so make sure to go and have a look if you haven’t already. Every single entry was brilliant, and the art trail exceeded all expectations. Keep an eye out for events and activities in the future.
Find out more about what’s on at your local village hall in 2022.
For more information on Village Halls Week, please visit the ACRE website.