Community Weaving Project – Saturday, June 18 from 11am to 5pm, FernFest Field of Dreams on the Vic High Field
>> Beth Threlfall
FernFest is synonymous with community spirit. Everyone’s favourite aspects of the weekend—great music, good vibes, tasty food, family fun—are focused on inclusion and building this amazing community around us. For those of you wanting to create a living metaphor for this phenomenal neighbourhood event, what could be better than a weaving project? After all, weaving community is what Fernwood does best, so I would like to invite you all to come and contribute to an actual community weave!
All we need to make this fun, interactive craft happen is something we all have an abundance of: t-shirts! Yep, t-shirts are the fabric of choice for this collective, recycled weaving project. We’re asking you to bring your old (but clean) cotton, adult-size t-shirts down to the Fernwood Community Centre before June 15, 2016. Then, during FernFest’s Saturday Field of Dreams, we’ll collectively cut the t-shirts into strips, knot them into large loops, and then stretch those loops over our large, pre-made weaving frame. Then it’s time to get to weaving!
Under, over, under, over, again and again, until we reach the end and have created a large, vibrant, neighbourhood rug: it’s like a community dance, but with fabric! Whether you come for five minutes or stay for an hour, community members of all ages are welcome to help bring this project to life.
And what happens with the beautiful finished product? Do we raffle it off? Donate it to a local shelter? Bring your own ideas, join in the fun, and help us weave some community. Much like we have seen with countless community projects before, the possibilities are often endless!
