The James Tuttiett Charitable Trust was delighted to donate to the Whitchurch Children’s Festival which took place on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th July 2023. The Whitchurch Children’s Festival is organised and promoted by Whitchurch Conservation Group. It was the second outdoor event held by the group and attracted over 1400 attendees, an increase of 800 who attended in 2021. The festival is a small, safe and friendly, family arts festival in Whitchurch, Hampshire, designed especially for families with pre-school and primary-school age children celebrating Whitchurch’s natural landscape; the River Test, Mill Trail and an AONB. Whitchurch Conservation Group is a constituted community group based in Whitchurch, Hampshire. Established in October 2020, they now have over 850 local, Whitchurch resident members. The aim is to enhance Whitchurch’s status as an economically, culturally, and socially vibrant town with a strong rural and heritage identity.
The setting for this year’s festival was a wildflower water meadow by the SSSI River Test, belonging to the historic Fulling Mill which lies alongside the crystal-clear waters of the River Test in rural North Hampshire town of Whitchurch. This is the second Arts Council funded festival. The first was held in Summer 2021: it is very much based on connecting children to the landscape around. The Trust’s contribution helped fund the cost of providing family tickets for financially disadvantaged children who would otherwise not have had the opportunity to attend the arts festival. The rural area traditionally has a low engagement with arts and culture, hence the importance of engagement and connecting young children and families with the local landscape.
© Whitchurch Children’s Festival