Hygge – the Danish word that translates into something like cosiness, and the word that inspired the name of HuG for our annual green arts festival, where we work together with the Foxlowe to help raise funds for their energy efficiency schemes - originally from the idea of ‘hugging’ the building with insulation.
This year’s HuG will take place on Saturday 24 June with a great line up of stallholders, performers and activities for all ages signed up, with a special theme on the vital importance of bees and pollinators. So we are particularly excited that we shall have the amazing Pif-Paf Bee Cart, an exciting, accessible walkabout theatre piece for audiences of all ages, joining us thanks to OUTSIDE, the exciting new community arts programme created by, and for, the people of the Staffordshire Moorlands:
Bee Guides Bombus and Borage have left the Hive with the Bee Cart – their mobile world of interaction and surreal but true information exploring all things Bees and Pollination. Delve into the world of Bees, learn the waggle dance and try out their Buzz Pollenator or their Flapper-Winger-Tronerators, meet a giant Varroa Mite, and maybe even get your nose pollinated!
There will be a wide range of stalls showcasing a variety of arts and crafts using different materials produced with an environmental approach and ethos, such as a workshop making notebooks using recycled materials, along with local nature and environmental groups such as Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, Swifts of Leek, and Friends of the Earth.
Celebrating Leek’s award of Bee Friendly Town status, Cllr Bill Cawley will unveil a new bilberry bee wood sculpture. Made by the Moorland’s own award-winning winning artist, sculptor and craftsman, Anthony Hammond, the beautiful public art piece will then be permanently sited in Birches Garden in Leek.
Other outdoors events will include weaving and spinning, and wood whittling and bodging demonstrations. There will be activities for children and families, and musical entertainment all day. With poetry readings and a book stall, the spoken and written word will be represented too. There will something for everyone!
We’re now looking for volunteers on the day (and possibly the evening before to help with set up). We’ll need help with room stewarding and staffing a couple of stalls (both MCA and one other), as well as somebody/somebodies to persuade visitors to buy tickets for our fab raffle prizes (see below).
If you could help (even for an hour) on either day, we’d love to hear from you! Please contact Lindsay Trevarthen, our Events Coordinator, on
We are also giving a shout out for raffle prizes for the day, preferably those with an eco theme. We’re not collecting now but do put anything suitable aside if you can and look out for further information closer to the date. Many thanks!