Starcatchers – Scotland’s Arts and Early Years Organisation – is spreading festive cheer across Wester Hailes this December with a series of Narnia-themed events for families with young children.
Working in collaboration with partners across the community, Starcatchers will present a magical Narnia Festive Trail from Thursday 11 to Saturday 13 December, designed especially for families with wee one’s aged birth–5 years.
Beginning at Wester Hailes Library and ending at WHALE Arts, the immersive trail will feature aerial performances, live music from Tinderbox Collective, Oi Musica and Big Noise Wester Hailes, plus the chance to meet beloved Narnia-inspired characters along the way.
This special festive experience has been created for families in Wester Hailes, Broomhouse and Sighthill, and developed in partnership with Starcatchers’ Expecting Something group for babies and their carers, based at WHALE Arts. Since November the group has enjoyed working with lead artists Katy Wilson, Kerry Cleland and a range of visiting artists on playful, creative activities inspired by C.S. Lewis’, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The families’ ideas and creations have been incorporated into the magical hour-long walkthrough performance.
Expecting Something is Starcatchers’ longest-running community programme, with the pilot project taking place in 2013. Since then, the group has become an invaluable space for play, community and relaxation for young families and their newest additions in the Wester Hailes area.
Lead Artist Kerry Cleland has worked hard to make this year’s celebration bigger and more collaborative than ever, drawing in more partners and providing more opportunities for the whole community to take part. Throughout December, partners across Wester Hailes have come together to deliver a range of Narnia-inspired activities. Locals have taken part in a variety of different events including festive window-design workshops at Wester Hailes Library as part of Fair Saturday Scotland, Whale Arts Winter fayre, and a host of other activities delivered by Wester Hailes Library, Whale Arts Agency, The Health Agency, B Healthy Together, Prospect Community Housing, Holy Trinity Church, Community Wellbeing Collective and The Why Project.
Kerry said:
This year’s celebration has been our most collaborative yet, and we simply couldn’t have created it without the enthusiasm of local families and the support of partners across Wester Hailes. It’s been wonderful to see our Narnia celebrations grow year after year into something bigger and more magical for the whole community—inviting everyone, from birth to 100 years old, to get involved and be creative together.
A huge thank you to Edinburgh City Council for funding Starcatchers’ Narnia festive trail in Wester Hailes and to Fair Saturday Scotland for supporting our festive window design workshop and helping us to provide 200 free creative window packs to families across Wester Hailes. We’d also like to thank Wester Hailes Community Trust and All or Nothing Theatre whose contributions and support have been invaluable.
Find out more about Starcatchers work at starcatchers.org.uk or following @StarcatchersUK on Facebook and Instagram.
Narnia® is a registered trademark of CS Lewis Pte Ltd. THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE by C.S. Lewis copyright © C.S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. 1950. Find out more about Narnia at narnia.com.
