A free folk celebration will be taking place at a Stoke-on-Trent 'parklet' this weekend.

Brilliant Bamboo, a Stoke-on-Trent based community organisation, will be hosting a 'BAM Holiday Sunday' event at their brownfield parklet on Boothen Road, Stoke on Sunday 3 May.

The organisation, which explores the benefits of bamboo for people and the planet, are hoping to create a new folk event for the site while championing sustainability and celebrating spring.

Gemma Thomas, who founded Brilliant Bamboo in 2023, said: "As well as creating a mini park, it was always part of the plan to host events to bring people together."

She added: "We thought actually it might be a really nice moment around May Day and Staffordshire Day to do something which celebrates spring and creates a folk event for that site."

Visitors will be able to experience, and take part in, Morris Dancing with Domesday Morris as well as see the 'Folk Dance Remixed Maypole' with sounds from a DJ.

There will also be craft workshops taking place for visitors to engage with.

Artist and maker, Anthony Hammond, will be leading the creation of a dead-hedge area made from sustainably coppiced willow and other materials from the Brilliant Bamboo site.

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Head-dresses and arm-bands have also been created by Holly Johnson and Eve Travis, and a further crafting workshop will take place at the site during the event led by Holly Johnson and Fran Buxton.

Gemma also explained that a clay workshop by Olivia Azzopardi is inspired by the history of the site.

She said: "The site used to be an old pottery and there are thousands and thousands of shards that we've found already. 

"So being able to do something with clay at the site feels like we're not just doing it for the sake of doing clay. We're doing it because it's part of the history of the site."

Brilliant Bamboo hopes to put on more work-shops and events in the future and host this folk celebration annually.

Gemma said: "We're an arts organisation so as well as being about the material and about growing, we're interested in telling stories. And all the things that are on the site become part of the story.

"With the event itself, if we do it this year and it works really well, we'd really like that to be able to build on that for next year and carry on telling stories."

Schedule for the day:

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• 11:30am – 4pm: Gates open for workshops with Anthony Hammond (arty dead-hedge), Holly Johnson and Fran Buxton (costume), Olivia Azzopardi (clay), and Chloe Rickett (bamboo). Alongside food and drinks available to buy. 
• 11:45am – 12:15pm: Street Dance the Maypole! with Folk Dance Remixed.
• 12:30pm – 1pm: Domesday Morris.
• 1:15pm – 1:45pm: Street Dance the Maypole! with Folk Dance Remixed.
• 2pm – 2:30pm: Domesday Morris.
• 2:30pm – 3pm: Street Dance the Maypole! with Folk Dance Remixed.
• 3:15pm – 3:45pm: Street Dance the Maypole! with Folk Dance Remixed.

Brilliant Bamboo explained that all details subject to change, and to be communicated on the day.