Parade-making workshops ahead of Old Goole Gala

Children aged 8 years and above are invited to help Edgelands Arts make the Old Goole Gala Heritage Parade in a series of fun workshop sessions at Moorlands Youth and Community Centre in Old Goole. The first sessions took place between Monday 17 and Wednesday 19 August, and the final session is on Friday 21 August. Thanks to funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, these sessions are free to attend and will run from 10am to 12 noon and again from 1pm to 3pm on each of the above dates. Children who attend, together with their families, are also invited to take part in the Old Goole Gala Heritage Parade with their creations, which will meet at 10.30am on Cottingham Street in Old Goole on Sunday 23 August. It will set off at 11am, arriving at South Park at 11.30am for Old Goole Gala. Work is already underway to create the parade, with Edgelands Arts composing a new song and creating parade images, such as train wheels, fish, birds, and ships, with Castaway in Goole and St Joseph’s and Marshlands Primary Schools. Edgelands Arts has also been searching the Masterman Collection archives for images of Old Goole Gala and collecting oral histories from Old Goole residents. Charlie Wells, Co-Director of Edgelands Arts, said: “This project is a great opportunity for people of all ages to explore Old Goole’s heritage in a fun way through the parade, as well as documenting and preserving the heritage of the Old Goole Gala Parade, which we know has been going for more than 100 years, having recently found a photograph in the Masterman Collection dating back to 1910. This project is also a great way to involve Old Goole in this year’s Goole bicentenary celebrations.” Genie Young, Project Manager of The Moorlands Youth and Community Centre, who is working closely with members of the Old Goole Gala Committee, said: “We look forward to welcoming children and young people to the centre to take part in these creative parade-making sessions. There’s still loads to make and do, and we’re excited to see all the creations paraded by families on 23 August.” For more information, email Genie or Bev.