Celebrate – It’s our birthday!
Where has the time gone?! 2024 marks our pearl anniversary – three decades of sparking and satisfying curiosity through thousands upon thousands of people sharing their stories. To mark this lovely milestone we are creating a gallery showcase this summer. Right now we are asking organisers to nominate stories they want included, and once they are all sorted and ready we will be sharing options and asking you to help us decide the final entries, so watch this space!
Plan – Registration is open
We kicked off the season with our Planning & Inspiration webinar, which was a complete JOY! So many people sharing so many wonderful ideas for the year ahead. Don’t worry if you missed it, we have more planned! In a year where we are celebrating Routes-Networks-Connections we are delighted to announce that we will be hosting regional workshops again for the first time since the pandemic. We look forward to meeting you out there or online at one of our Community Cafes.
Sneak peek – the first event highlights
Charlotte is busy going through the entries as they are registered, here are her first favourites:
The entries have been flooding in, and we’re already amazed at the hidden heritage that has come to light with events like these to look forward to in September: The team at Wombwell Cemetery are right up our street, or theirs, discovering who inspired local street names or rediscovering their ‘Lost’ train station. Lindisfarne Castle are showcasing its castle that's not a castle on an island that's not an island. And our taste buds are already tingling at the thought of discovering how Hollybush was once the centre of the rhubarb world by looking at its Rhubarb routes!
Advocate – Getting out & about
With the website live and registration open we’ve also been getting out and about to spread the word and find new inspiration and opportunities.
Heritage Day
The Heritage Alliance’s annual gathering is a staple in our calendar. We took the bunting to set up stall and loved meeting friends old and new – hello Icon and The British Pilgrimage Trust among many others! It was a bumper event, being an election year, with representatives of different parliamentary parties sharing their thoughts and plans in a Heritage Hustings panel.
Wellbeing & Heritage Conference
I’m still buzzing from this! Organised by a brilliant partnership of Historic England, Council for British Archaeology, Southampton Institute for Arts and Humanities, I’d been looking forward to it for months. Hosted by the fantastic team at Delapré Abbey (go visit!) Liam and I ran a workshop in their beautiful library on the impact of our festival’s ‘Doorstep Discoveries’. I finally got to meet other members of the sector working group in person, and so many other incredibly inspiring people. Too many highlights to mention here but keep an eye on their website as some of the sessions were recorded – Wellbeing & Heritage Conference.
European Heritage Days Coordinators
We are part of a European network and are delighted that our brilliant Liam has just been elected as their Vice Chair! He went to the group’s meeting at the Council of Europe offices in Strasbourg earlier this month:
I had a fantastic time catching up with fellow national coordinators and discussing the challenges of increasing youth engagement with heritage across our festivals and events. It was great to exchange ideas and share some examples of best practice with each other.
Find out more
- Celebrating 30 years of doorstep discoveries – Read about our anniversary plans
- Got a story/place to share? – Find out how you can join our festival community
- Newsletter – Sign up for regular updates on the festival and beyond
- Read more on the blog – Look out for ‘Take 5 with the Team’ posts in our Blog stream
- Meet the team
