This year’s Phoenix52 'Get Creative' Festival will be held at Netham Park on Avonvale Road in Barton Hill on Sunday 11th July. With a Samba Reggae procession from the Crypt leading up to Netham Park we will be drumming and trumpeting our way to a great day.  With free art activities for children of all ages, giant games, peep thru photo boards, cake stalls and storytelling tents there will be something for everyone. This year we will also have a 'Buskers Corner' and would welcome anyone to come along and sing acoustically to the crowds!

If you would like to take part in the 'Buskers Corner' please emaill This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or come along to the next Phoenix52 meeting in the Canteen at The Wellspring Healthy Living Centre at the top of Beam Street on Wednesday 2 June at 6.30pm.

Last Year the Phoenix52 'Celebratory Parade' and ‘Get Creative’ Festival took place on Sunday 12 July in Barton Hill.  The Celebratory Parade caused quite a stir with Samba Reggae group Bloco Ilu Axé kicking the festival off in style with red-hot Brazilian rhythms, they were followed by a giant Phoenix Puppet created by local celebratory artist Amy Peck with lots of help from children at Hannah Moore Primary School.  Lots of local children also joined the parade dressed in specially designed t-shirts and carrying decorated umbrellas and flags that they created at workshops at the Phoenix52 Community Artspace during the run up to the event.  Thanks to Kerry Russell & Tracey Graham from In Bristol Studios for all their hard work running workshops for the the umbrellas and the flags.  Local musician, David Mowat also joined the parade, together with local circus theatre performers vreni may and hazey hoop who looked splendid on their stilts.  The procession wound it's way from the Urban Park along Avonvale Road to Netham Park where the 'Get Creative' Festival was opened just as the sun came out.

The festival itself  was a great success with 500-600 visitors in attendance throughout the day.  Avon Fire Services struggled against the wind to inflate their hot air balloon and allowed children to sit inside a fire engine, whilst their counterparts from Avon Police encouraged local children to dress up as policemen and to sit inside a squad car and use the siren.  All the free creative workshops for children were extremely popular with a constant queue for face painting and free portrait photographs at the Dress Up Box, provided by Simon & Becky from Blueskies Photography on Church Road.

Other highlights included the Knitting Circle and Fairy Cake Decorating workshop, Mask & Kite Making, Circus Skills and the Spinart Workshops.  Live music was provided by Chai For Two with special guest, African star Ben Baddoo, Cheap Bent Electrode, MC Blackout AJ, the Qays Band and headline act - Helele, with Sound, light and staging provided courtesy of Factory Studios, Barton Hill Trading Estate.

Thanks to everyone involved in making it such a special day, especially to the Phoenix52 team, you know who you are, and to Sarah Winch at Wellspring HLC and Dave Marsden at Netham Pavilion - we couldn't have done it without you.

You can see photographs from the Celebratory Parade and Get Creative Festival or a slide show by visiting our online Gallery.