Trawden Garden Festival: The Village’s Blossoming Youth

The Trawden Garden Festival theme this year is ‘Wizarding World,’ and locals are already digging out their most magical outfits for the scarecrow competition. “Hopefully, we won’t get too many Harry Potters!” Organiser Keeley Turner laughs.

The Trawden Garden Festival has been running for over 20 years and was created by locals who wanted to unite the community. Today, it is organised by five Trawden women: Jen Birtwistle (Chair), Keeley Turner, Laura Vickery, Joanne Webber, and Rebekah Marshall.

This year, for the second year running, the village children are taking the lead. The Youth Committee was established to encourage younger people to become more involved in the festival.

“We thought it would be a good opportunity to involve the younger generations and get their ideas because it’s not all about us,” Keeley explains. “It’s for the whole community.”

At the heart of the festival will be Trawden’s community centre, where the children will help run stalls, serve brews, and offer activities. Throughout the festival, the children will be on hand to show visitors around the village, sell maps and collect donations, with all proceeds being donated to The Pendleside Hospice.

“THE YOUTH COMMITTEE IS A GREAT PLACE TO VOLUNTEER, GIVING THEM VALUABLE SKILLS”

“They really enjoyed last year! They were buzzing because of all the donations they collected,” Keeley explains. “The children gain lifelong transferable skills. The Youth Committee is a great place to volunteer, giving them valuable skills which will help with the volunteering section of their Duke of Edinburgh Awards.”

New members are always welcome for both committees. For more information, email trawdengardenfest@gmail.com.

ColneLife May/June 24