A popular arts and crafts club for families is celebrating its first year at Ulverston’s Coronation Hall, which is managed by Westmorland and Furness Council.
The Coro Craft Club offers children and parents the chance to be creative in a fun, friendly setting at its free Saturday craft mornings.
To mark the club’s first birthday, children took part in a competition to design a logo for the aprons worn by crafters at their monthly gatherings.
Six-year-old Posie Carter drew the winning artwork which can be seen on the new aprons provided by the council. Posie said: “I like the Coro Craft Club because I enjoy doing all the activities and I can’t wait until the next one!”
The club started last March with a £1,000 grant from Ulverston Town Council to buy materials and it is thriving.
Ulverston artist Amy Whelan, Team Leader at the Coro, said: “I run the craft mornings, choosing a different theme each month, from making pompom monsters to book-character sock puppets.
“The mornings are free to attend and all materials are provided. Previously we’ve had donations from Ulverston Scrap Store, James Cropper [the Burneside paper mill], volunteers of the Coro and the general public, which help to keep the club going. We’re delighted that Westmorland and Furness Council have agreed to keep on supporting this important community activity in conjunction with the libraries team.
“There’s no age limit and we do get a few teenagers who attend with their younger siblings or get just as involved. Parents/guardians can also be seen getting stuck in!”
Children must be accompanied and there are always Coro volunteers on hand to help out.
Amy said: “The next Coro Craft Club is Saturday 30 March, 9.30am to 12.30pm, and we are painting wooden eggs for Easter.
“There’s no need to book and the Saturday of the month changes depending on whether we partner with local festivals, national holidays etc. I like to theme the sessions to coincide with these or with other activities taking place in the temporary Ulverston library here at the Coro.”
Keep an eye on the Coro website and social media as the Coro Craft Club and libraries team will also be holding these fun events at the Coro in the Easter holidays:
- Coro Calling, Tuesday 2 & Thursday 4 April – drop in any time 10am-3pm and make something to add to the 3D mini Coro Calling festival. Free, all materials provided, children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Wordsworth Trust, Friday 5 April – “Rucksack of Rhymes”, 2pm-3pm, for children 0-5 and parents/carers. Through songs, play, crafts and a story, learn what life was like for the Wordsworths at Dove Cottage 200 years ago. “Busy Bees”, 3pm-4pm, for children 4+ and parents/carers – learn about bees, William Wordsworth’s poetry and Dorothy Wordsworth’s journals through craft and creative writing. Please book a place at the library for these sessions.
- Create a flag for Ulverston’s Flag Fortnight, Monday 8 to Saturday 13 April, during opening hours. All-day drop-ins for families to create a mini flag for the festival. All flags made will be displayed in the Coro window.
- Design your own Easter egg, throughout the Easter holidays – pick up a colouring sheet in the children’s area, design an egg and hand in to a member of staff for a chance to win a prize.
Steph Cordon, Director of Thriving Communities at Westmorland and Furness Council, said: “We have a wonderful venue in the Coro and this craft club is exactly the kind of activity the council wants to encourage and support. What Amy and the volunteers are doing here encapsulates so much of what is good in our communities – a warm welcome, creativity, generosity with time and skills, and a setting where different generations can come together and thrive.”
For updates on the latest events at the Coro, follow:
https://www.facebook.com/thecoroulverston
https://www.facebook.com/WestmorlandFurnessCouncil
https://www.facebook.com/WestmorlandFurnessLibraries
