The Communities team at Bristol City Council are proud to have led Bristol’s first Community Festival earlier this year. The festival took place from Saturday 22 March to Saturday 5 April, providing people with an opportunity to celebrate all the incredible work being done across Bristol to make positive change for local residents. A lot of planning went into holding the festival, and it was supported by a dedicated working group made up of both Bristol City Council and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector colleagues. One member, Anne Su, One Green Kitchen founder, explains what being part of the process meant to her:
“It was such an honour to be part of the Bristol Community Festival discussion panel and the working group behind the scenes! We also ran a Smoke-Free Programme promoting health and wellbeing in our city. ? My hope for the future? More events like this — where residents can co-design and lead the celebration, where every voice matters, and where we work together across communities toward one shared goal: a sustainable, inclusive Bristol.”
In total, over 60 different events took place over two weeks, all centred around social action, where people have come together to take action, solve problems or improve lives in the area where they live. The festival celebrated lots of the work that’s already started while also encouraging more people to take part and connect with each other. Friendly Neighbours was a group that received funds to run an event, and team member Victoria mentions what her community got out of being part of the festival:
“The project was an amazing opportunity to strengthen community ties in the Dove Street Area through community-led street art, while also bringing new life to an overlooked space. During the process, we opened important conversations about climate change and explored how the community can take action, with many exciting ideas emerging to be developed in the near future.”
Other events included a public procession through Castle Park to recognise unpaid carers, a 2 week long programme of activities at Bedminster's Community Hub and another event offering people a garden tour and a chance to do some tai chi. Everyone involved went out of their way to create events that were engaging with creative activities to get residents talking, engaged and more interested in civic life. In addition to dedicated community groups, lots of teams from Bristol City Council also got involved to showcase their amazing work with communities, all helping to make the festival such a vibrant and joyful success. Council teams included:
- Libraries
- International Twinning
- Events
- Arts
- Regeneration
- Democratic Services plus many more.
Bringing the festival to a close was a large finale event that took place at City Hall. It brought together a brilliant mix of voluntary groups and council teams all showcasing their work. Highlights included hearing from several organisations who held events as part of the festival; U3a, Friendly Neighbours, The People’s Comedy and Bristol Older People’s Forum. The event also held a thought provoking and inspiring panel discussion, made up local community leaders including Ruby Osunsola from Black Mothers Matter, Anne Su from the festival working group and founder of One Green Kitchen, Gnisha Bevan from Black Seeds Network, Victoria Rivera-Ugarte from Friendly Neighbours and the Chair of the Public Health and Communities Committee, Cllr Stephen Williams. It was chaired by Lucy Holburn of Holding the Space, and was a powerful discussion, exploring the crucial role social action plays in our city, and how to break down barriers so everyone can take part.
Finally, here are some personal reflections from panel members at the finale event at City Hall:
“It is so important to celebrate all the amazing work happening in our communities. It was wonderful to meet and learn from other community leaders. Providing, and advocating for, flexible funding opportunities that communities truly need can unlock this potential even further. The 'mainstream' environmental sector in particular can benefit from directing resources to community leaders who know how to work with people in their communities and bring out their best. The green sector can benefit from learning new skills and knowledge in community engagement which has the potential to inspire more powerful and relevant environmental action on a much bigger scale." – Gnisha Bevan
"The closing panel discussion—and the meaningful conversations it sparked afterwards —powerfully underscored the importance of coming together, connecting, celebrating, and inspiring one another during challenging times. It was a privilege to Chair this event and to hear from community leaders who are making a remarkable impact across our city." - Lucy Holburn
"Ultimately, we want to make ourselves redundant, meaning we don't want to be tackling social injustice forever - continually organising for change and pushing for racial equity is exhausting, especially as seasoned/lived-experience professionals; the goal is to get to a place where organisations such as ours aren't needed, when Social Justice just 'is'.. being on this panel demonstrated that key stakeholders and organisations across our city are persistently pushing in the direction of social change, albeit with differing means and impact." - Ruby Osunsola, Black Mothers Matter CIC
The festival was a great success and celebrated all the important community work taking place across our city. It is hoped that everyone involved felt inspired by what can be achieved when people come together to take action on things they care about. While the festival may be over for this year, for many the hard work and celebrations continue.
For more information on the festival or how to get involved in more social action where you live email: communities@bristol.gov.uk