Gatis Community Space are taking to the streets again this October as the yearly
lantern parade is resurrected post covid. This years theme is The Magical Mushroom
Forest highlighting the echoes in nature between the hidden mycelium of mushrooms
that connects the trees and plants and our human hidden connections, the
commonalities that link us together be it liking sprouts or hating marmite.

The creative team have been working with partners Geotone, Curiosity Productions,
local lighting experts and with support from Newhampton Arts Centre to create a visual
and audio experience that has been community created. The project has involved all
walks of community that use the centre from our youth club all the way through to our
knitters group.

Lead artist Adam Billington has been working with community members to make an
incredible mushroom forest and will be one of a number of different light and sound
installations that will be dotted throughout the site. The geotone team have been
working with community members to showcase how to create sound effects and have
worked closely with our youth group to help them develop characters and stories for
some of the existing large scale lanterns from previous years parades. These stories
will be the main feature of the parade itself as we stop off at various locations to hear
them acted out, alongside a hidden story of connection involving the past and the
present that ties it all together.

Adam said, “we are very excited to be bringing the yearly parade back to life and
making it bigger and better by adding in sound elements. We’ve learnt a lot from the
Geotone team and we hope to develop using these new technologies to really bring
new cultural activities and opportunity to our local community."

The team have also been working with developing some of our younger team
members by offering them key roles within the whole process of planning, creating
and producing an event like this. There have been mentoring opportunities and skill
sharing to allow these young people to explore their future goals.

Its not necessary to bring a lantern but we encourage people to get creative and try
making something at home. There may be the opportunity for people to borrow a
lantern from Gatis but these will be on a first come first served basis.
What will happen:
• We are asking for people to gather at Gatis from 5.30 to be ready to set of at
6pm prompt
• We will parade on a set route around the local area
• We will return to Gatis where the large lanterns will be displayed and you can
explore the light and sound installations around site.
• There will be food and a campfire to connect around - sharing music, stories,
songs and laughter.

Anyone requiring more information please email: gatis.parade@gmail.com or phone
the office on 01902 651155.

We are asking people to book tickets through our Eventbrite link
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/425699888827