Coventry will be hosting its first Festival
for the Over 50’s on the 21 - 23 September 1999.
The idea for the Festival came through consultation with the
Coventry Older People’s Forum and Policy teams at the City Council. It is funded
through the ‘Better Government for Older People’ Initiative and it has two basic
aims:
- To celebrate the over 50+’s and their achievements
- To advertise and demonstrate the variety of activities and
pursuits that are available to over 50+’s across the city over a wide range of areas.
The Festival has four parts to it, which are arts and
leisure, education, sports and shopping.
FESTIVAL OFFICE
There will be a Festival Office set up in three adjoining
shop units in the Lower Precinct. This will be open on the three days of the Festival
between 11am and 3pm and will offer free refreshments and toilet facilities.
Many of the education providers from across the city will
have exhibitions and displays showing the ranges of courses that they have on offer. There
will also be a programme of demonstrations from some of these courses at which members of
the public can either observe or have a go at.
These will include introductions to study/hobby pursuits such
as aromatherapy, learning about computers and the Internet, healthy eating, cake
decorating, woodcarving, theatre appreciation, gardening skills and many others.
Several of these education providers will also runs taster
sessions at their own venues.
There will also be displays and information stands from
groups and agencies including ExtraCare Charity, Over Fifties For Action, Health Education
Council, Coventry Voluntary Services Council, Age Concern, the Benefits Agency, the
Coventry Retired Persons Association, the Coventry Branch of the British Pensioners Trade
Union Action Association, Volunteer Link and many others.
A leaflet detailing all the events and activities on offer
during the Festival will be available to pick up from the office during the three days,
and from local libraries and council offices beforehand.
CELEBRATING 50+ ACHIEVEMENTS
The main way by which we hope to celebrate the achievements
of the Over 50’s, and the centrepiece of the Festival, will be an exhibition at the Museum of British Road Transport devoted
to individuals' achievements in whatever form is appropriate to them.
The aim behind the exhibition is that it should be an
opportunity for anyone over 50 in the city to put on display something that they have
either created or achieved and of which they are proud. This could be items such as crafts
that they have made as a hobby, certificates they have gained through study or pursuits
(eg swimming certificates gained later in life, educational qualifications etc), workplace
or individual sports teams awards, or anything else that has a positive significance to
them.
The exhibition will be on display at the Transport Museum for
the whole of the month of September but people are invited to contribute both before and
during the time it is on show, to enable the exhibition to be as large, and as
representative of the skills of this group of people, as possible.
We are also looking for individuals or groups who would be
prepared to either demonstrate their skills, or talk about their particular pursuits, to
enable the Museum to set up a programme of workshops/talks over the period of the
exhibition.
If you are interested in something of yours being included in
the exhibition and for further information please contact Paul Maddocks at the Museum of
British Road Transport on 01203 832425.
This Festival will be the first of its kind in Coventry and
it aims to be positive, informative and entertaining. As the first one of its kind it is,
and will be, a learning experience for all involved it. The plan is to develop it into a
yearly event. Both the Evening Telegraph and the Senior Citizen have given the project
their full support.
More information on all the events is in a leaflet available
from local libraries, council offices and through all the agencies and groups involved in
the Festival.
If you want to know more about the Festival please contact:
Cathryn Goodwin
Festival Co-ordinator Coventry 50+ Festival
c/o Room 6
57-61 Corporation Street
Coventry CV1 1GQ
or
Tim Healey, Coventry City Council 01203
833333
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