North Hertfordshire College once again opened our doors to the local community for the Big Draw Festival at our Hitchin Campus during the October half-term break!
This was the second year that North Hertfordshire College has hosted the event. The Big Draw Festival is aimed at bringing the local community together and celebrated the transformative power of art in establishing wellbeing and creative thought.
North Hertfordshire College’s Big Draw Festival delivered an immersive experience, offering a diverse range of creative activities aligning with this year’s national theme of ‘Drawing in Motion’. All activities were led by volunteer students from the College’s Creative Industries, Travel & Tourism, and Hospitality & Catering departments. The event was supported with funding from North Herts Council Community Grant and Councillors Locality Budget.
This year the festival welcomed a local artist to share her inspiration with the community. Sarah Graham, creator of the ‘Samarivans’ campaign brought her templates for individuals to create their own designs. The event also hosted story telling activities with the Library Service as well as drawing natural specimens from the local Museum Service’s collection.
It was a big hit with our young visitors, who enjoyed the variety of activities on offer at the free event. Raffi, aged 10, told us: “There’s so much to do! This is the best!”
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One parent commenting: “There was a really lovely atmosphere; staff and students were really enthusiastic and supportive. The face painters were amazing! I absolutely loved the world map activity – in a time when our world is full of conflict and distress, this activity was so well pitched.”
This year was the biggest Big Draw Festival that North Hertfordshire College has hosted. Over 300 visitors joined the event, creating over 160 pizzas, 100 masks, 100 flags and a giant collaborative art piece which was displayed at the Hitchin Campus. Plans are now in motion for next year’s event, which aims to be even bigger!
Melissa Caneppele, Schools and Community Engagement Executive at North Hertfordshire College, said: “The Big Draw Festival was a huge success and it was brilliant to see the local community come together to explore their creativity. Big Draw events are held across the country and it was a great opportunity to open our doors and showcase some of the curriculum areas we offer for post-16 learners. Seeing the smiles on people’s faces, from parents and grandparents to children of all ages, has really helped to show the positive influence art can have on our wellbeing. It’s been great to see all areas of the college come together to run this fantastic event and we can’t wait to start planning our next community event!”
Here’s to next year’s event!