Workshop Menu

Every fate has five essential elements:

1. A way for people to do democracy, not just hear or talk about it! For example, a session on charter writing from Our House, a workshop on speech writing to help people develop their voice and feel like they have agency; a news club, where people get to deliberate on what news headlines matter most to them. 
2. A tone and aesthetic of positive, joyful inclusion that doesn’t shy away from real conversations about what’s happening in the neighbourhoods and nations where we live.
3. A culture-led and in-real-life approach to bringing people together, which means prioritising face-to-face encounters, embodied experiences, and transformational practices and learning.
4. Put together by, with and for local artists, makers, photographers, videographers, community organisers and anyone else who wants to get involved
5. A way for people to express their agency in how they make decisions together that extends after the end of the event.

There are dozens of elements that make up the Fête, depending on venue and location, participants, and partners. The list below are the various ingredients we know work, and we’ve trialled all of them, more or less, although there are a few new ideas and partner-related elements for future and new Fêtes.

NB: Costs are averages for information only, to help you budget for your Fête – if you are interested in these elements contact the organisation directly, or better, find someone in your local area who can provide a similar workshop, element or creative contribution.

Element / Workshop	Organisation	Detail	Examples	Costs to help for budgeting purposes
Public Living Room	Camerados	A public living room dressing the outside and entrance to the event to make it warm, welcoming and ‘no agenda’	An example from a previous Fête.	£0-250
Good Neighbours Directory	Absurd Intelligence	A participatory arts installation dressing the space inviting attendees to fill out flyers for who their good neighbours are, visualized through the day	Good Neighbours	£50
Art and Poster Exhibits	Various, esp. Local artists	Various posters, art installations and pieces to dress the space	Check out the decor from Fête of Liverpool and Manchester	£0-250
Common Census Boards	Mike and Sian Studio	A-Frame boards posing easy conversation starters to get people thinking and talking about how they feel about Britain today, visualized with stickers	Common Census at the Fête of Britain in Manchester
Kitchen Table Conversations	Mothership	A workshop over making food / bread (or just in a cafe) for mothers interested in talking about what makes their neighbourhoods thrive	Get in touch with Mothership	Varies
Host and MC	Hard Artist/AI, e.g. Dulce Duca	A host and MC for the day to ensure the energy and vibe are right	Dulce co-hosted our Fete Convention	£0-350
Shared Stories	Host	Helps everyone in the room get to know their new neighbours	Opening the Fête Convention with life stories set the mood	£0-250
Logging Off Club	Adele Walton	Aimed at younger people / teenagers, a session where people log off their phones and do something more interesting with discussing social media.	Logging Off Club	£300-500
Speech Writing Workshop	Dash Arts	A workshop on helping people write a short speech about an issue they care about, to perform (or not) later	Speech writing overview and snippets from our Fête Bus Tour	£300-750
Charter Writing	Our House	An opportunity for local people to come together and write a charter for what they want for their town/city etc	Overview from Our House (they do a 90 minute fun version)	£0-250
Fate Writing with Hey! Festival	Local Writers	A writing workshop where people focus on an element of fate	Hey! Festival	£0-250
An introduction to assembly culture	ISWE/Humanity/Assemble	An introduction to what assemblies are and how to run them in your own neighbourhood	Running assemblies in Manchester	£0-250
Good Neighbours Live	Absurd Intelligence	A live performance of the magazine show for the arts and culture movement, hosted by Clare Farrell, Jess Flynn and Alex Lockwood	Good Neighbours Live	£2500-3500
Fabric of Love	Humanity Project	A workshop using making with fabric to bring people together to discuss what makes their neighbourhood special	Fabric to unite!	£0-250
Singing together	Local singer/choir	A coordinated singalong to end the day on a high note and people feeling they have participated in something joyous together	Jenn Reid led the singalong at the end of our Fête Convention	£0-250
50 Objects of Modern England	Modern Cockney Festival	A participatory arts installation dressing the space inviting attendees to tell us what the objects they most associate with Britain are. (ALSO A WORKSHOP)	Modern Cockney	£0-250
Zine Making Station	Local artists	A station for making zines and collages in response to the questions such as ‘what do you love about Barking?’ and ‘what do you hope for Britain?’	Fête of Liverpool	£0-500
Drawn Without Looking	Ian Bruce	A chance to sit down and draw the face of a stranger and for them to draw yours, and an artist fills them in for you to take away your portrait.	Drawn without looking	£0-250
Sweat Shop	The Remakery	A people-powered bicycle sewing machine where you make a sweatshirt in 20 minutes, about people-power, sustainability and community.	Remakery	£500
Silly Machines	Bureau of Silly Ideas	Remote controlled bins, water pistols, marble runs and other stuff for the kids.	Silly at the Fete of Peterborough and Manchester	£0-1000
Live Illustration	Josh Knowles / local	An artist capturing the ideas, mood, ideas and celebration in live illustration.	Josh Knowles	£400
Poet In Residence	Local Artist	An artist capturing the ideas, mood, ideas and celebration in words to perform back at the end of the day.	Maureen Onwunali at the Fête Convention	£350
BSL Sign Language	BSL Local Agent	Sign language		£350
Musical Coordinator	Local Artist	A collaborative playlist for the day.		£0-250
Creche	Local Venue	Creche		£500